Fire Emblem Awakening-Twin Destinies
by ShyWriter101
Summary: Begins between Chapters 1-2 of Awakening. Includes several OCs. How will the Shepherds react when two strangers inadvertently reveal a secret and a connection. How will a certain female dark mage react to one of them? Will follow the events of Awakening to its conclusion.
1. Chapter 1

-Fire Emblem Awakening- Twin Destinies-

Chapter One- Strangers in a Forest-

'Come on, we have to run!' the cries of a young woman rang out, notes of desperation underlying her words.

The similarly aged man who was accompanying her glanced momentarily over his shoulder in her direction before he was forced to block a downward cut from the opponent he was currently engaged in combat with.

'You go ahead, I'll give you cover!' he shouted, growling as his opponent, an undead nightmare who was as silent as he was brutal, pressed the attack.

'B…but…' the woman bit her lip nervously as she watched the man fight.

'FOR THE LOVE OF NAGA, RUN YOU IDIOT!' the man yelled, even as he noticed more of the monsters beginning to surround him.

At this, the woman let out a little squeak, turned around and fled, looking over her shoulder once in worry at her companion before disappearing into the forest. From behind her the woman could hear the sounds of a fire beginning to start.

In another part of the forest, a group of five people had just finished off a group of the monsters.

'They are known as the Risen,' one of them, a medium sized man wearing a mask and wearing a blue cloak over similarly coloured armour, said to the other three who were looking at him warily.

'Er…okay…thank you either way I suppose…' a taller blue haired man replied uncertainly. This man was also wearing a blue cloak, but had a metal shoulder guard over his left shoulder, his right shoulder bare to show the Mark of the Exalt, proof of his connection to the Ylissean royal family. 'I'm Chrom by the way. The man in the armour is my loyal companion Frederick, the woman in the dark coat is Robin and the one you saved is my sister Lissa. Thanks for saving her.'

'Yeah, I was in a lot of trouble before you showed up!' Lissa said brightly, though Chrom still detected a note of relief in her voice at having narrowly avoided death.

'It was no trouble,' the other man said, turning away and making to leave.

'W…wait! Can I at least know the name of my saviour?' Lissa said quickly.

The man paused before eventually replying with, 'Marth.' With that, he quickly sprinted into the forest and disappeared from sight.

'Marth? As in the Hero-King of legend?' Chrom said, blinking in surprise.

'Most likely it is not his true name, milord,' Frederick pointed out. 'Still, he was skilled and I am grateful that he was on hand to assist.'

Chrom grunted. 'I would have been able to handle it…but yeah, it was good to have another blade on hand, even if that blade looked disturbingly like mine.' He led the way as the three walked in the direction of their campsite.

The group then tensed when they heard the sounds of something barrelling towards them through the undergrowth. Chrom stood in front of Lissa, bringing up his sword Falchion, while Frederick in turn stood in front of him. They stood there, ready and waiting for a few moments before a woman suddenly came bursting out of the tangle of leaves and branches to their left and cannoned into Frederick.

Due to Frederick wearing extremely heavy and solid armour, the woman was unfortunately rendered unconscious by the impact and fell onto the ground in a slump, her long blue hair covering her face as her head lolled to the side.

'Jeez, Freddy, how heavy is that armour?' Lissa exclaimed as they gathered around the unconscious form of the woman. Robin and Lissa shared a snicker even as Chrom's sister examined the stranger. 'Lucky for you, she doesn't seem to have been seriously injured by the impact. However…'

She didn't have to continue since they could all see that the woman's clothes were ripped, parts of it in places that caused Chrom and Frederick to blush and look away so as to spare the woman's dignity. Noticing this, Robin rolled her eyes and quickly removed her coat, draping it over the unconscious stranger.

'Do you guys recognise her?' she asked. 'I certainly won't, though it would be awkward if she turned out to be my sister or something.'

Robin had only recently joined Chrom, Lissa and Frederick after they had found her unconscious in a field two days ago. They had then discovered that Robin was suffering amnesia, being only able to remember her own name and, oddly enough, Chrom's. Chrom and Lissa had been willing to trust her, despite Frederick being extremely wary of the woman, though thanks to an attack on a village by a group of raiders bring out the fact that Robin was apparently gifted with an extremely sharp mind and an eye for tactics he was starting to relax. Slightly.

Chrom was shaking his head, though he smirked as he said, 'Is there something about us that just attracts unconscious women to us? I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not?' He then let out a chuckle despite himself. 'Maybe she'll turn out to be a tactician as well! Can you imagine if that was the case?'

'Hey, at least Frederick would have someone else to be suspicious at!' Robin teased back, elbowing the man in question in his side and immediately regretting it as her elbow hit his armour. 'Goddammit, Lissa's right; how solid is that?'

'Solid enough,' Frederick replied, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Instead, he pointed down at the woman at their feet. 'Perhaps we should do something about her before we continue this…fascinating conversation?'

'Right…Lissa, think you can heal her wounds?' Chrom said, becoming serious as he knelt down and brushed the hair away from the woman's face. He noted detachedly she looked to be around his age and that her hair was almost an exact shade of blue as his own.

'Shouldn't be a problem!' Lissa replied cheerfully and held up the staff that she had been carrying.

A few seconds later a soft white light was emitted from the blue crystal at the staff's tip and surrounded the unconscious woman. Seemingly reacting to it, the woman let out a little groan and, much to Chrom's surprise and embarrassment, reached out and gripped the front of his shirt. He tried to gently remove her hand, but found her grip to be surprisingly tight and so sighed and sat back, ignoring the smirks that he was getting from both Lissa and Robin.

Lissa spent the next few minutes healing the woman and when she was done she lowered her staff and let out a breath.

'There, all done!' she said in a satisfied tone. She then sniggered again as she looked at Chrom. 'Maybe you should be the one to wake her up, eh big brother? She seems to already be quite attached to you!'

Chrom glared at his sister even as Robin let out a giggle before she, too late, clapped a hand over her mouth. He then looked down as the woman stirred and, with a yawn, opened her eyes. To his surprise, he found that, just like his hair, her eyes were the exact same blue as his own.

This fact did not escape Lissa and she let out a noise of surprise, though didn't comment since the woman had immediately noticed the strangers around her and slightly recoiled, clutching Robin's coat to her.

'Um…uh…h…hello…' she stammered, eyes widening in a mixture of fear, curiosity and relief. 'Who are you?'

'I think that perhaps _you_ should begin the introductions,' Frederick said severely before anyone could answer first.

'Um…okay…I'm Yana, a cleric of Naga…' the woman replied after a hesitant moment.

'Good to meet you, Yana,' Chrom said gently and she looked at him. 'My name's Chrom and these guys are with me.' He pointed at his companions in turn and introduced them. 'The one in the armour, who incidentally you ran into, is Frederick, the delicate looking one is my younger sister Lissa and the other woman is Robin.' He laughed. 'Funny story, we kind of found Robin recently in a situation similar to yours, though she didn't get knocked out by an overly protective knight.'

As he continued to chuckle, he suddenly felt the whack of Lissa's staff hitting him over the head.

'I am NOT DELICATE!' she yelled in annoyance.

'And there were surely better ways to introduce me other than 'the other woman'…" Robin grumbled.

'Milord, I am not overly protective, YOU just happen to be frequently careless in my field of vision,' was Frederick's response to Chrom's introduction of him.

Before Chrom could grumble a reply back, their attentions were distracted by a giggle.

'You people sure are…interesting…' Yana said, smiling. She then seemed to remember something and quickly stood up, Robin's coat falling to the ground and causing Chrom and Frederick to once again go red and look away. A panicked look crossed her face as she said quickly, 'Oh, you have to help! My friend told me to run when we were attacked by these ghastly creatures! He could still be fighting, but I fear what might have happened while I've been gone!'

At this, Chrom stood up. 'Right, we'll help you. Where was your friend before you left?'

Yana pointed behind her. 'Follow me! I should be able to retrace my steps since I seemed to have torn my dress in several places!' She tugged absentmindedly at the hem of her tattered clothing, which unfortunately caused it to rip some more and expose more of her smooth skin than Chrom and Frederick were ready for.

Robin let out a sigh and picked up her coat before handing it back to Yana. 'You better put this on otherwise our dear commander and his boyfriend will have to save your friend with only one hand each.'

'What?' Yana asked distractedly, still looking anxiously back in the direction she had come from. She then looked impatiently back at them. 'Well, are you people coming or not?'

'Sure…just lead the way,' Chrom said, coughing slightly and composing himself.

Yana nodded and without further ado led the way into the forest. She made sure to check to see where any parts of her dress were as they went and it wasn't long before they came into a scorched clearing that seemed to have only recently been created. Chrom and his companions looked around surprised at the devastation that they had found, while Yana swept her gaze around the clearing.

Suddenly, she let out a frightened squeak and hurried in the direction of a man who was lying with his back to a tree and a sword across his lap. Chrom and the others followed close behind her, with Chrom instructing Lissa to be prepared with her staff.

At their approach, the man painfully opened one of his eyes. When he saw who was approaching, a small smile of relief crossed his lips.

'Yana…thought I told you to run,' he coughed, sitting up straighter as Yana quickly knelt down next to him.

'Oh, Raye…why did you even tell me to do that?' she said, her voice trembling slightly. 'You know I could have helped, or did you forget about my power?'

Yana's friend, whose name was apparently Raye, was silent for a moment before a sheepish look crossed his face.

'Er…maybe…look, either way it was my duty to protect you, regardless of your abilities,' he mumbled, looking slightly embarrassed.

Yana sighed before placing her hands on his chest. A moment later there was a flash of golden light that persisted for several seconds before eventually fading away. When it had Raye ran a hand down his chest, inspecting it by touch, before smiling gratefully at Yana and getting to his feet.

During this, Chrom and the others had been watching in surprise and when Raye stood up Chrom said, 'What in Naga's name was that?'

Yana looked at him, suddenly nervous. 'Um…what do you mean?' she said, almost like she was hoping that they hadn't noticed ability she had clearly just shown. At her words, Raye narrowed his eyes and dropped into a slight combat stance, an action mirrored by Frederick.

As the two men glared at each other, Lissa and Yana stepped between them.

'Woah, woah, Frederick, don't do anything hasty!' Lissa cried.

'You as well, Raye!' Yana said, in a slightly stern voice. 'These people saved my life, and would have helped rescue you if you hadn't already handled things.'

At these words, Raye and Frederick relaxed, although they still stared suspiciously at each other. Chrom sighed and shook his head.

'Since we're all friends, perhaps we should introduce ourselves?' Chrom took a few moments to introduce his group to Raye, who nodded once as each name was spoken. 'Now then, mind explaining what that was, Yana?'

Yana and Raye exchanged looks before Yana sighed and nodded reluctantly.

'I…guess you have a right to know,' she said, slightly uncomfortably. 'Um…what's the easiest way to explain…' She paused as she tried to come up with the words. 'Well…you know how I'm a cleric of Naga?' Chrom and his companions nodded. 'Er…well the reason I am, or was, is because at a young age I…kind of healed someone from my village without the need of a staff or any training…also the man was blind at the time, so I guess that also contributed to me being inducted into the sisterhood.'

'And I am the one who was chosen to guard her during her training,' Raye grunted, sheathing his sword. 'It was believed that she would need someone more…mature and focussed to watch over her since she was rather energetic growing up.'

At these words, Yana looked at him, an annoyed look on her face. 'They didn't need to know that, you jerk!' She lightly hit him across the arm before turning back to Chrom. 'Anyway, over the years my power to heal developed to the point that I'm now able to heal several people at once as long as they're within a certain distance from me, no more than three or four metres at the most.' She sighed then. 'Only problem is that if I heal more than one person that way I get really tired and hungry.'

'More like grumpy and obstinate…' Raye mumbled, unfortunately loud enough for the others to hear and earning him a more violent hit from the offended party.

'Shut up, you!' Yana snapped, rolling her eyes. 'Why don't you go and burn down more of the forest or something?'

At this, Chrom quickly interjected by saying, 'Er, what do you mean by that?'

'Oh, it's nothing, Chrom,' Yana replied, just as quickly. 'Raye's just kind of a pyromaniac, that's all.'

'So you were the one that did all this?' Robin spoke up, indicating the burnt clearing.

Raye coughed, sounding embarrassed. 'Uh…yeah, guilty as charged.'

'How'd you manage that? Are you a mage?' Robin looked at him interestedly as she spoke, which caused an unexpected flash of irritation in Chrom, which he quickly dispelled.

'No, I'm just…careless sometimes in combat…'

Robin crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at Raye. 'Careless is knocking out a woman with your armour when she runs into you; burning down a rather sizable part of a forest is something else entirely.'

An annoyed look crossed Raye's face, but before he could speak, Yana stepped in front of him.

'Please, its better if you don't know, at least for the time being,' she said. 'Can you just trust me when I say that he is no danger to anyone, not unless they try to harm me?'

Chrom exchanged glances with his companions. When they had all shrugged, he turned back to Yana and smiled. 'Sure, sorry if we seemed a little pushy, it's just been a strange night.'

Yana laughed. 'That it has, Chrom.' She then glanced up to the sky, where the first signs of day were stating to appear. 'We should probably get going, Raye, I want to get to Ylisstol as fast as possible.'

At her words, Chrom stiffened, but it was Frederick who spoke up, a renewed look of suspicion on his face.

'Ylisstol? Why are you two travelling there?' he asked, eyes narrowed at Yana and Raye.

'I was travelling there so that I could visit the Temple to Naga and request an audience with the Exalt,' Yana replied, surprised at Frederick's tone. 'I am a cleric of Naga, after all.'

'What did you need from Exalt Emmeryn?' Chrom asked cautiously.

Yana looked downcast as she said, 'My village was raided a few days by Plegians. The head cleric wants me to request some support in hunting down the villains. Most of the guards were killed during the attack otherwise we would have handled it on our own.'

'But why YOU specifically?'

There was a moment of silence from Yana before she continued. 'She…she said that in return I was to offer my services to the crown. I could tell that it pained her to do it, but we have no other way to repay any help given.'

'So…you've been effectively kicked out?' Frederick asked unthinkingly, earning himself a slap from Lissa.

'What he meant is…are you okay with that?' Chrom's sister asked.

Yana seemed to struggle internally as she replied. 'It is…not my place to argue, Lissa. I have a power that can benefit the populace, therefore it is my responsibility to share it, no matter where I am sent to or how far…' The woman gulped and struggled to hold back tears as she thought about the head cleric's decision. 'And it was a request from my superior…who I owe my life to, since she was the one that taught me all I know.'

'But what about your family?' Lissa argued. 'Surely they said something about this?'

Yana smiled. 'Lissa, I'm grateful that you care, but it's a decision out of my hands. Besides, I have always wanted to see the rest of the world. Now's my chance, so please…think nothing more about this.'

Lissa pouted but let the matter drop.

Chrom took this chance to make a surprising offer. 'You know…we're heading back to Ylisstol ourselves, and since it seems that these paths are becoming more dangerous what with the Risen, perhaps we should travel together?'

'Risen?' Raye repeated. 'I assume that that is the name of the creatures I slew?'

Chrom nodded. 'Yeah, we had an altercation with them ourselves before we…er…'ran' into Yana.' He chuckled before looking at Yana. 'So, you interested?'

Yana considered his offer, looking back at Raye, who shrugged. She then nodded slowly and said, 'Very well, you did make a point about the apparent dangers of travelling in a small group, and since we appear to be headed in the same direction it would be foolish of Raye and I not to accept your offer.' She then smiled and shook Chrom's proffered hand.

Raye then coughed, drawing everyone's attention. 'Since that is the case, perhaps you have some spare clothes for Yana?' He indicated Robin's coat, which Yana was still wearing. 'I assume the owner of that coat will want it back at some point?'

'She can borrow some of mine!' Lissa said cheerfully, but Chrom compare her small, childish frame to Yana's more…mature one and shook his head.

'Uh, I don't think that Yana would actually fit into any of your clothes, Lissa,' he said pointedly. His words made both women go red in the face, though for two completely different reasons.

'Are…are you saying that I'm fat?' Yana stammered, looking hurt.

'Are you saying that she's fat?!' Lissa shouted angrily at the same time.

Chrom cringed, even as Robin once again was too late to hide her own mirth.

'N…no, that's not what I meant at all you two!' he cried defensively. 'I just meant that Yana has a more developed body than you, Lissa!'

Silence followed his words, broken only by Frederick sighing, shaking his head and saying, 'Oh, milord...'

'What? What did I say?' Chrom whispered loudly to him.

His loyal knight merely stepped out of the way as two hands slapped Chrom on either side of his face. He fell back and looked up, rubbing both cheeks and shrunk back when he saw Lissa looming over him with Yana looking both embarrassed and mortified at the same time.

'CHROM, YOU PERVERTED IDIOT!' Lissa screeched and lifted her staff over her head in preparation of bring it down on her brother's own. 'THAT IS NOT HOW YOU SPEAK TO A WOMAN YOU JUST MET!'

A resounding crack echoed through the dawn-lit air, followed almost immediately by an unrestrained giggle from a certain amnesiac tactician-to-be and a strangled cry from a loud-mouthed prince.

Chrom's head was still smarting from Lissa's staff assault as they made their way back to their camp. To their surprise, they found that there were two more people waiting for them, one of them known to Chrom, Lissa and Frederick.

'Sully? What are you doing here?' he asked a woman wearing red armour standing next to a man who was wearing some rather frilly looking clothes. 'And who's that?'

Before Sully could speak, the man interrupted her, giving a grand and low bow before straightening.

'Ah, my friend, I am that man of men, the one and only Virion!' he said in an impressive tone, preening slightly as he spoke. 'I just happened to be passing by when I came across my lovely companion here and…'

What he was about to say was cut off as Sully pushed him aside, causing the man to stumble, and spoke over him.

'Yeah, ignore this fop, sir,' she growled, glaring daggers at Virion who had already composed himself, sending a winning smile back at her. Snorting in disgust, Sully continued. 'It's actually thanks to him that I wasn't able to catch up to you in time, he kept grabbing my hand and trying to kiss it.'

'My lady, how could I resist?' Virion said smoothly. 'You are such the ravishing beauty that I felt myself compelled to shower you with affection even though we had only met!'

Sully looked very close to punching Virion unconscious, but admirably restrained herself, choosing instead to stomp over to a horse that was standing nearby. Virion was about to follow until he laid eyes on Robin and Yana, who were standing next to each other a few feet away, and immediately glided over to them.

'Ahhh, it seems that this day has seen fit to bless me with more beauties than I can handle!' he exclaimed, taking each of their hands in his own and planting an elegant kiss on each. 'And who might you be my lovely angels?'

Robin and Yana looked at each other, eyebrows raised, before simultaneously shaking their hands loose from Virion's, turning sharply around with an almost identical flip of their hair and walking several metres away. The others couldn't help but notice that they were both giggling and whispering to each other as they walked away, shooting looks over their shoulders at Virion.

'Huh…there's a surprise…' Chrom said thoughtfully, staring after the two women. 'They seem to have already become attached to each other, and we only just met Yana.' He paused. 'You…don't think that they really _could_ be sisters, do you?'

Lissa scoffed. 'Only if they were sisters in their derision,' she said. Lissa then hurried to catch up to them, saying over her shoulder, 'I'll see to getting some new clothes for Yana, some that aren't too 'tight' in certain areas!' She glared at Chrom as she said that last part before calling out to Robin and Yana to slow down.

'I'm never going to live that down, am I Frederick?' Chrom sighed as the two men walked in the opposite direction, leaving Virion to his own devices.

'I don't believe so, milord,' Frederick said simply, patting his lord on the back. He then looked around. 'Where is that barbarian that was with Lady Yana, by the way?'

The answer to Frederick's question was soon discovered when they saw that Raye had sat himself on a nearby stump, taken his sword out and had begun to clean it.

'There you go,' Chrom said, gesturing in Raye's direction.

'Perhaps I should keep an eye on him, milord?' Frederick suggested, taking a half step in the other man's direction. 'I don't believe we should trust him.'

'You say that about everybody, my friend,' Chrom sighed and firmly led the knight away. 'We need to make preparations for our return to Ylisstol.'

In Lissa's tent, Lissa and Robin were helping Yana with her clothing situation. Yana had been forcefully seated on one of the chairs in the tent while Lissa rummaged through the piles of clothes that she had dumped onto her sleeping cot.

She was having trouble because, as much as she hated to admit it, Chrom had been right; Yana clearly had a much more developed and mature body than she herself did. It couldn't even be completely attributed to the fact that Yana was a few years older than Lissa, because she appeared to be the same age as Robin, and even the tactician wasn't able to hold a candle to the cleric. It only made Lissa's mood more depressed, since Robin herself was also more developed than her. The younger cleric idly looked down at her flat chest and let out an annoyed 'hrmph', a noise that was immediately picked up by the other two women.

'What's wrong Lissa?' Yana asked.

'Hmmm? Oh, I just can't find anything that might suit you, Yana,' Lissa said, covering the slight insecurity she had just experienced.

'As long as it covers me, I don't really mind,' Yana said. 'I do feel like I should apologise to you though, since it is your clothes that are being offered.'

'Oh, it's alright,' Lissa replied, waving a hand dismissively. 'Lord knows Chrom wouldn't have offered his own.'

Yana giggled. 'And I'm fairly certain that I wouldn't want to wear anything a sweaty man has worn anyway.'

'I dunno, Chrom's kinda cute,' Robin said, smirking. Lissa and Yana looked at her in surprise, making her laugh. 'Not that I'd want to wear sweaty man clothing either, just thought I'd give my honest opinion.' She then studied Yana. 'In fact, you look a lot like him, Yana. You sure you weren't separated at birth or something?' At these words, Yana looked down at the ground in silence, which made Robin's smile immediately drop. 'Oh god, you weren't really…were you?'

'No…no, it's just…I was found abandoned outside the gate of my village eighteen years ago,' Yana said in a small voice. 'No-one knew who my parents were, but thankfully I was taken in by a kind family who didn't have children of their own.'

Robin and Lissa shared a look.

'Um…sorry for saying something so insensitive, Yana,' Robin eventually said awkwardly. 'Gods, I did a Chrom, didn't I?'

At this, Yana let out a giggle and playfully hit Robin lightly on the arm. 'Nah, you're not that bad. At least you didn't make a perverted comment about my…what was it…' Yana's voice dropped slightly as she imitated Chrom. ''Your developed body…''

The three women laughed at that smiled at each other.

'You know girls, I think we're gonna get on just fine,' Lissa said cheerfully. 'You two will definitely fit in with the Shepherds.'

'Shepherds?' Yana asked curiously.

Lissa mentally smacked herself on the head. 'Uh, I mean…I know that you said that your head cleric wanted you to offer your services to the crown, but I was kind of hoping that you might consider joining my brother's personal force.' She indicated Robin. 'He's already made the offer to Robin, and she accepted, and technically you WOULD be serving the crown…just in a different capacity to what you might have planned.'

Yana considered Lissa's words. 'And these Shepherds of yours….they help the populace?' Lissa nodded and Yana smiled at that. 'Well…if that's the case, then I'm sure the head cleric of my village wouldn't mind if I joined. You're right; I _would_ be using my abilities in the way that she had intended if I worked with the Shepherds.'

Lissa cheered and impulsively hugged Yana, who laughed as well and instinctively returned the embrace. Robin chuckled as she watched.

'I'm sure you're both gonna enjoy working with us!' the young princess assured her two new friends. She then returned to the previous task and quickly sorted through the clothes.

After a minutes of searching, Lissa finally decided on a deep green silk dress that had been given to her by her older sister, though it was still slightly too big for her, and held it up for Yana to examine.

'Oh…I couldn't wear that!' Yana protested. 'It's much too fancy for a cleric like me!'

Lissa winced inwardly as she remembered that both Robin and Yana still didn't know that she and Chrom were actually royalty, but still insisted that it would be fine for Yana to wear.

'Come on, that's exactly why you _should_ wear it, Yana!' she said persuasively. 'This was given to me by my older sister, but as you can see it won't be fitting me any time soon. Why not give it a try? You won't see a lot of dresses as good as this one!'

Yana, still looking slightly apprehensive, nevertheless sighed and nodded her head at Lissa's insistence.

'Right, let's get that tattered dress of yours off and you into the new one!' Lissa commanded.

Blushing slightly, Yana turned her back on then and slowly slipped out of the remains of her cleric's attire. Soon she was standing there in just her smallclothes, though Lissa and Robin both raised an eyebrow when they saw that they were slightly more…daring than they had expected.

'What...?' Yana stammered, blushing even more. 'Okay, so I may have borrowed some from a friend before I left the village, though not of my own volition. She'd insisted, giving me an odd wink before I left and whispering that since I would no longer be under the eye of the church I should…'enjoy' myself a little bit…'

Robin laughed while Lissa also went red.

'Well…whatever, let's just get you into this thing before some idiot decided to just barge in here,' Lissa said quickly. 'Turn around so that I can help you into it.'

Yana nodded, turning back to face the other two. However, as she did so, her left shoulder was lit by the light of the candles in Lissa's tent and what Lissa saw there caused her to almost drop the dress.

There, as clear as the one on her brother's right shoulder, was the Mark of the Exalt.

 _And that's all for Chapter One of Fire Emblem Awakening- Twin Destinies. I'm sure that as soon as Yana was described you knew who and what she was, especially with such an obvious title._

 _Please let me know whether or not you enjoyed it and whether you would like Chapter Two._

 _As a final afterthought, I thought it would be fun if I wrote up how Yana and Raye's profiles would look if they were in the actual game and their unique weapons. Enjoy (or not, really it's your choice)…_

 **-Yana-**

 **Starting Class- Mage Advanced Classes- Naga's Disciple/Sage/Valkyrie**

 **Second Seal Classes- Cleric/Villager**

 **Unique Skills-**

 **-Naga's Blessing (Personal Skill/Cannot Remove or Switch)- Can heal a single ally by 75% of their total health, or all allies within 5 squares for50%. Mov, Def and Res become 0 for one turn if healing multiple allies.**

 **-Blinding Cast (Personal Skill Lvl 15/Cannot Remove or Switch)- If using her unique Tome, enemies targeting Yana have their Hit reduced by 50 and their Avo reduced by 50 if she initiates the attack.**

 **-Naga's Light (Personal Skill/Naga's Disciple lvl 20)- When wielding her unique tome, Yana can heal multiple allies without negative side effects. She also projects an aura that reduces the damage allies take within 3 squares take by 4.**

 **Unique Weapon-**

 **Divinity's Grace (Tome)- Rank-** N/A **Uses-** N/A **Mt-** 20 **Hit-** 75% **Crt-** 10% **Rng-** 1-3

 **Effects- Yana Only. +5 Mag and Skill and grants immunity to Dark Magic. At the start of the turn, heals Yana by 50% of her total health. Effective against Dark Magic users and dragons.**

 **Starting Stats-**

 **Level-1 HP-15 Str-0 Mag-12 Skl-8 Spd-5 Lck-15 Def-2 Res-8 Mov-5**

 **Growth-**

 **HP-35% Str-5% Mag-95% Skl-65% Spd-65% Lck-75% Def-25% Res-50%**

 **Quotes-**

' _ **Umm…sorry about this…!'**_ _when she initiates an unsupported attack._

' _ **Thanks for the help…I think I need it!'**_ _when initiating a supported attack._

' _ **I'll…I'll do whatever I can!'**_ _when supporting an ally._

' _ **Naga protect us both!'**_ _When guarding an ally from an enemy attack._

' _ **Naga forgive me for this!'**_ _Crit quote 1._

' _ **I…I can do this!'**_ _Crit quote 2._

' _ **N…Naga…I see your…light…'**_ _Death quote 1._

' _ **I…I'm sorry…Chrom…Lissa…'**_ _Death quote 2._

 **-Raye-**

 **Starting Class-Bound Dragon (can use Dragonstones) Advanced Class- Unleashed Dragon**

 **Second Seal Classes- Manakete/Mercenary/Myrmidon**

 **Unique Skills-**

 **-Inner Fire (Personal Skill/Cannot Remove or Switch)- When Raye's health drops below 50% and as long as it does so, he gains +10 damage, Spd and Crt, but his Def and Res are both halved while his Hit is reduced by 20.**

 **-Slumbering Rage (Personal Skill lvl 10 as a Bound Dragon/Cannot Remove or Switch/Cannot be equipped at the same time as Controlled Rage)- When Raye's health drops below 20%, he gains +10 Damage, Damage Resistance, Magic Resistance and doubles his Mov but has a 10% chance to turn on allies at the start of the turn. This increases by 10% for every turn Slumbering Rage is active. Stacks with Inner Fire and removes it's debuff.**

 **-Controlled Rage (Personal Skill/Unleashed Dragon Lvl 30/Cannot Remove or Switch, but replaces Slumbering Rage)- Allows Raye to take on his dragon form without needing a Dragonstone. +10 to all Stats while in his dragon form. Inner Fire now activates when his health drops below 25%, but without the debuffs.**

 **Unique Weapon-**

 **Dragon's Rage (Sword)- Rank-** N/A **Uses-** N/A **Mt-** 15 **Hit-** 65% **Crt-** 45% **Rng-** 1-2

 **Effects- Raye only. After Raye initiates a combat, his health is reduced by 10% of his total health. If Raye kills his opponent after an initiated attack, he heals for 10% of the damage dealt. Effective against Dragons and Armoured enemies.**

 **Starting Stats-**

 **Level- 1 HP-15 Str-10 Mag-0 Skl-10 Spd-10 Lck-5 Def-5 Res-5 Mov-6**

 **Growth**

 **HP-100% Str-75% Mag-0% Skl-70% Spd-70% Lck-40% Def-30% Res-30%**

 **Quotes-**

' _ **Time to die!'**_ _When initiating an unsupported attack._

' _ **Let's join forces, eh?'**_ _When initiating a supported attack._

' _ **Let us stand together!'**_ _When supporting an ally._

' _ **Not one step further!'**_ _When guarding an ally._

' _ **My rage will devour you!'**_ _Crit quote 1._

' _ **Be engulfed in my flames!'**_ _Crit quote 1._

' _ **D…damn…so much for this…dragon…'**_ _Death quote 1._

' _ **N…no…! My…duty…is not…over…'**_ _Death quote 2._


	2. Chapter 2

-Chapter Two-Sisters and Scales-

'Y…Yana…' Lissa stammered, pointing at the mark on Yana's shoulder with a trembling finger. 'What…what's that?'

Yana looked at what Lissa was focussed on and frowned. 'Oh, this? Dunno, always had it,' she replied, rubbing it self-consciously with her right hand. 'I guess it's some kind of birthmark or something like that. To be honest, I've always been embarrassed about it so I never showed anyone.'

'Why?' Lissa cried incredulously.

'Er…I mean…well, what kind of guy would show interest in a girl with a blemish as big as this one?' Yana said, looking slightly confused at Lissa's reaction.

'Wait…are you saying that even though you're a cleric following Naga's teachings you…don't know about your mark?' Lissa demanded. At a confused shake of Yana's head, Lissa sighed in frustration. 'For the love of…'

Before Robin and Yana could react, Lissa suddenly stormed out of the tent. A silence followed her departure until Yana shared a look with Robin.

'What was that about?' she asked.

Robin shrugged. 'I have no idea.' She then inspected the mark on Yana's shoulder closely. 'Hm…but I will admit, I'm also a little surprised…'

'Why?'

'Well…I hadn't really thought much about it but Chrom also has a mark that looks exactly like yours, only his is on his right shoulder.'

Yana was startled at this revelation. 'Really?'

'Are you really telling me you hadn't noticed? It's quite easy to see, you know.'

'I never got a chance to look at Chrom, especially not a specific place like his right shoulder!' Yana protested, looking embarrassed. 'Besides, we were all distracted, remember?'

Robin conceded that she had a point. 'Yeah, alright have to give ya that one. Still…I wonder why Lissa reacted like that?'

Meanwhile, Lissa had just burst into Chrom's tent, where he and Frederick were inspecting a map. The two men looked at her in surprise that quickly turned into concern when they saw Lissa out of breath with an upset look on her face.

'Lissa? What's wrong?' Chrom asked quickly, moving over to her as she collapsed onto a nearby chair. 'Are we under attack?'

'I will make sure that the others are prepared, milord!' Frederick announced and made to leave, stopping when Lissa shook her head.

'No…we're not under attack…' Lissa said faintly. Chrom frowned at her words and tone.

'So…what's the matter then?' When she was silent, he got down on his knees so that he could look into his sister's eyes. 'Lissa…what happened?'

Lissa shook herself at his words.' Chrom, answer me plainly…do we have another sister?'

Chrom was startled at her sudden question. 'What? Lissa, you know as well as I do that you and Emmeryn are my only sisters.'

'Are you sure?' Lissa prodded in a more insistent tone. 'Can you honestly tell me that we don't have another sister?'

'Lissa, what the hell are you going on about?' Chrom asked, now becoming slightly agitated. 'Is this some sort of prank? Because if it is, we don't have time for it right now!'

Lissa shook her head angrily. 'It's not a prank! I just needed to know if you knew anything!'

Chrom sighed and put a hand to his face. 'Lissa, seriously…is there some point to this?'

'Yes, actually!' his sister snapped at him. 'If you must know, I just found out that Yana has the Mark of the Exalt on her left shoulder!' She practically yelled out that last bit, causing Chrom to recoil slightly before he realised what she had just said.

'What?' he said blankly, not sure if she really had just that. 'Yana has…no, surely you were imagining it?'

Lissa shook her head angrily. 'Chrom, I may enjoy a joke or two every now and then, but this time I SWEAR to you that I'm telling the truth!'

Chrom stood up and looked down at his sister. 'Explain.'

'I'd found a dress for her to wear and when I told her to take off her ruined one I saw the mark!' Lissa explained impatiently. 'Do you really think I'd have mistaken something like that? You know how…how obsessed I was with the fact that you had a mark and I didn't! I would never be able to mistake the mark for anything else!'

Chrom and Frederick looked at each, stunned looks on their faces as they realised that Lissa really wasn't joking.

'Are you absolutely sure of what you saw, Lis?' Chrom asked quickly. 'Because if you are…do you know what sort of implications this might raise?'

'Duh, of course I do!' Lissa replied in an irritated tone. 'Do you think I didn't immediately realise what it meant that Yana had the Mark of the Exalt?'

Chrom ran a hand over his face in frustration and uncertainty. Could Yana really be a long lost family member? If that was the case, then how had she become lost in the first place? Why? WHEN?

All of these questions and more swirled around in Chrom's mind, and he could tell that similar ones were doing the exact same thing to Lissa, judging by how her expression was changing from one of shock, to confusion and finally an odd look of happiness before cycling back and repeating.

Before they could discuss the matter any further, Robin's voice suddenly sounded from outside the tent.

'Chrom, is Lissa in there with you?' she asked. 'It's just that Yana was worried when she just ran off. She's hoping that she didn't do anything to upset or offend her.'

'Uh, yeah, she's in here!' Chrom called back, uncrossing the arms that he hadn't realised he had crossed. 'Is Yana with you, Robin?'

'Yeah, I'm here,' Yana's voice now answered back.

Chrom shared a quick look with Lissa and Frederick before replying, 'Uh, could you come in here for a moment, Yana? You may as well, Robin.'

There was a momentary pause before the entry flap to Chrom's tent was pushed aside and Yana and Robin walked in, the former now wearing the green dress that Lissa had picked out for her. They both immediately sensed the tense atmosphere inside and cautiously lingered by the tent entry.

'Um…is my being here negatively affecting you guys in some way?' Yana asked after another moment of silence. 'If that's the case, I can leave…'

'No, no, that's not it…' Chrom said hurriedly. He struggled to think of anything further to say, so Lissa took up the slack.

'Yana, can you show Chrom the mark?' she suggested, her voice trembling slightly as she shared a look of terrified anticipation with her brother.

'Sure…I guess so…' Yana mumbled uncomfortably, having seen the shared look between the siblings.

With that, she rolled up the short left sleeve of the dress and finally Chrom and Frederick saw the mark, now knowing that Lissa had indeed been telling the truth. Several minutes passed with nobody in the tent saying a single word.

'Is…that's not a tattoo by any chance, is it?' Chrom eventually asked hopefully. He was dismayed when he saw Yana immediately shake her head.

'No, I was born with it, at least that's what my parents said,' she replied. At that, Lissa raised an eyebrow.

'I thought you said that nobody has seen your mark before today?'

'Well, obviously my parents would have,' Yana pointed out. 'I meant that no _strangers_ had seen it before. Not even the head cleric knew about it.'

'Why? Why keep it such a secret?' Lissa demanded, a question echoed by Chrom.

Yana looked nonplussed at the keen interest that the two were directing at her. 'Um…according to my parents there was a note that was inside the blanket I'd been wrapped in. The only thing that was written on it was the instruction to keep my mark hidden because it was a birth defect and the reason I'd been abandoned.'

At this new revelation a look of horror appeared on Lissa's face, while one of anger crossed Chrom's.

'And your parents never told anyone?' he asked.

'I don't think so…' Yana replied uncertainly. 'Seriously, what's going on? Does this have anything to do with your own mark Chrom?' She indicated Chrom's right shoulder where she could now see his own mark. 'What does it mean?'

Chrom took a few deep breaths before replying. 'The mark we both have is called the Mark of the Exalt, something that only those of the Exalted bloodline have.' He looked straight into Yana's eyes, which still held a look of confusion in them. 'Since you also have it, it means…' He took another deep breath before continuing.

'It means that you are also of the Exalted bloodline, like Lissa and I, which also means that we might be...ARE…related…'

Raye looked up from where he was still sitting inspecting his blade when he heard, and then saw, Yana come running full pelt out of Chrom's tent, Chrom himself appearing a moment later followed by Lissa, then Frederick and then finally Robin. Narrowing his eyes, he quickly sheathed his sword, stood up and hurried in the direction that group were going.

'YANA! Wait!' Chrom shouted as he tried to overtake the cleric, who was surprisingly fast in the dress that she had received from Lissa.

'Stay away from me!' Yana sobbed angrily, not looking back as she blindly ran through the forest. 'I refuse to believe a word you've said!'

'Why?' Chrom panted, increasing his pace and slowly catching up to Yana. He managed to at last tackle her, the both of them tumbling to the ground and coming to rest with Chrom on top of her, holding her down as she tried to wriggle out of his grip. 'Why don't you believe it? We have the same mark, and the only way you could have it is if we were related!'

'Because if it's true, then it means that I was unwanted!' Yana cried, tears in her eyes. 'You and Lissa obviously grew up in a loving environment, and your ROYALTY! The only reason I might have been sent away from THAT, is either because I was born to an illegitimate mother, or that your parents hated me from the very beginning!'

'Yana, that's crazy!' Chrom said firmly. 'My mother…OUR mother…was one of the most loving people I knew! She would never have sent you away unless…' He suddenly realised a reason that Yana might have been separated from her family and mentally smacked his head. 'Of course…because our father completely insane for almost all of his life! Our mother probably wanted to spare you from that!'

Yana shot him a scornful look. 'If that's the case, then why didn't she do the same for you or Lissa? Or Exalt Emmeryn for that matter?'

Chrom shrugged his shoulders. 'Maybe she tried to, but was caught before she could?' He let out a frustrated noise. 'I just don't know, Yana! What I do know is that you have the Mark of the Exalt, same as Lissa, Emmeryn and I, and that I will not let you run away from what could be your…OUR…family!'

'You don't get to make that choice for me, Chrom!' Yana snarled unexpectedly.

With a sudden knee to Chrom's groin, she slipped out from under him as he rolled around on the ground, gasping for breath. A furious look was on her face as she said, 'I always wondered what kind of people could abandon there one year old daughter in a village practically in the middle of nowhere! I always thought that they were either so poor they wouldn't have been able to support me, which was some sort of comfort since I imagined that they had to have been distraught about it at least, or they were just uncaring jerks who couldn't be bother with raising me!'

Yana's shoulders were shaking with fury as she continued. 'I simply cannot accept the family of the EXALT, who are supposed to care about the people and look after them, abandoning any chid of theirs, because it would meant that they aren't as benevolent as I was taught they were!' She stamped her foot on the ground. 'If it's all a lie, then I don't want to be part of that!'

It was at this moment that Lissa, Frederick and Robin finally caught up with them, Lissa stumbling as she came to a stop. When she heard what Yana had said, tears immediately began pouring from her eyes.

'Yana…you can't mean that!' she cried. 'Our mother would never have abandoned you without a reason! She must have felt that you would be safer that way!' She looked desperately at Chrom, who had managed to stand, albeit painfully. 'You told her how crazy our father was, right?'

'Yes, he did…but that still doesn't explain why she would leave a note that basically disowned me…' Yana said, in a much gentler tone to when she had been arguing with Chrom. 'If YOUR mother cared about me, she could have at least left one telling whoever took me in to explain who I was when I was ready! Instead, the only words I ever had from my POSSIBLE parents where that I had a disfigurement that was the cause of my abandonment! You do remember I told you that, right?'

At this, both Chrom and Lissa shared an upset look, as they suddenly remembered what Yana had told them only a few minutes ago.

'That…okay I can't really explain that…' Chrom said uncertainly, but he hurriedly tried to. 'Maybe…maybe it was the only way to ensure that no word of your existence made its way back to our father? I can only imagine how angry he might have been had he known that our mother had hidden their child from him.'

'Well, could you blame him?' Yana pointed out, now more angrily as she switched her attention back to Chrom. 'It seems like YOUR mother was the one who didn't care!'

At this, it was Chrom's turn to gain a look of anger. 'Now look here, I understand that you're upset, but you are saying something with no knowledge of the actual situation at the time!'

'Naga, I wonder why that would be?' Yana replied sarcastically, and Chrom realised immediately that he had only strengthened her opinion on the current matter. 'I wonder why I wouldn't know anything about the parents who abandoned me or whatever situation they might have been in?'

Seeing that Chrom was at a loss for words, Lissa desperately tried to get through to Yana.

'Please Yana…at least come back to Ylisstol with us and speak to Emmeryn…' she said, voice thick with emotion. 'I mean, you're going there anyway, right?'

As she looked at Lissa, whose lower lip was trembling and who had tears streaming down her face, Yana's resolve wavered for a moment before a hardened look entered her eyes.

'I think that I can get there by myself,' she said in a cold voice. 'I've decided that the only reason that I'm going there now is to pay my respects to Naga, nothing more. I'll just tell the head cleric that the crown refused to help. She'll believe me, since the Exalt hasn't really done anything to help anyone living on the border. We'll figure out how to deal with the Plegian raids on our own.'

'Please…Yana…don't do this…' Lissa pleaded, taking a step towards Yana, only to see her step backward in turn.

'Lissa…thank you for the dress…I'm sorry that it didn't work out…' Yana mumbled. She then looked past Robin and Frederick as Raye finally arrived. 'Raye, take me away from here, please.'

'As you wish, my lady,' Raye said, and quickly walked so that he was standing between Yana and the others.

'Raye…please make her see sense!' Lissa cried. 'You're the only one she'll listen to!'

'But Lady Lissa…Yana is the only one I listen to,' Raye replied in a neutral tone. 'She wants to leave, then that is her decision. I simply follow her orders, since those ARE my orders.'

'I'm afraid I can't let you do that,' Chrom said suddenly, a firm look in his eyes as he drew Falchion. 'Yana, I'm sorry, but you have to with us, whether you like it or not.'

'CHROM! That's only going to make her hate us even more!' Lissa shouted desperately, but she could see that it was already too late.

At the sight of the drawn weapon, Raye's eyes narrowed dangerously, which caused both Frederick and Robin to also prepare for combat.

'CAN ALL OF YOU PLEASE JUST CALM DOWN!' Lissa screamed, desperately trying to diffuse the situation.

'Hey, what the hell's goin' on here?' came Sully's voice loudly from behind her.

The entire group looked around and saw Sully and Virion, weapons drawn, arriving on the scene.

When they saw their comrades pointing their weapons at Yana and Raye, they quickly moved up to support them, causing Lissa to stamp her feet in frustration.

'Huh, guess we couldn't trust them after all, eh boss?' Sully growled.

'No, it's not like that,' Chrom replied. 'Just…we just can't let them leave, no matter what.'

At these words, Raye let out a snort and sheathed his sword.

'Do you honestly think that you can stop us leaving?' he said.

'Uh…well, you did just sheathe your weapon, you know?' Robin pointed out.

However, Raye merely grinned lazily.

'Actually, I'm about to unsheathe my real weapon.' He looked back at Yana. 'You should probably stand back, I'm haven't done this in a while.'

After Yana had retreated a short distance away, Raye brought out a small stone from the pouch that he had tied to his belt.

'What…is that?' Chrom asked him uncertainly.

Raye grinned. 'Our escape route.'

With that, he raised the stone above his head. A moment later a sudden inferno engulfed him, rising higher over a few seconds before dying away. What greeted Chrom and the others made them lower their weapons in shock.

Where Raye had been standing, there now towered a large dragon almost as big as a house, with shining, blood red scales, two horns above its eyes that swept out from both sides of its head and back at a small angle, stopping just behind the back of its head, and two golden coloured eyes that stared down at them. The pair of wings that it was slowly raising had a span that was almost as long as the length of its body and tail combined, which themselves totalled a length nearly forty metres long. Its four legs were powerfully built, the talons of its feet gripping into the ground and leaving large gouges as it did.

Several trees had either been pushed over or scorched during the transformation, but this didn't seem to bother the dragon that was Raye. It instead growled at them before motioning with its head to Yana, who carefully climbed a wing that it lowered before settling down between two of the spikes that ran down the dragon's spine.

As Yana tried to make herself comfortable on the hard scales of Raye's dragon form's back, Lissa desperately tried one last time to reach out to her.

'Yana…please…don't leave…' she whimpered.

Yana paused, looking down at Lissa with a sad look on her face. 'I'm sorry Lissa…this is just too much for me…but I did enjoy the small amount of time we spent together before this…' She gulped, tears starting to form her eyes now. 'Do not try to look for me once I leave Ylisstol, or if you get there while I'm still at the temple.'

With that, she lightly tapped the spike in front of her. At her signal, Raye jumped into the air and over the tree line, raised his wings and took off, quickly disappearing into the clouds far above them.

The mood when Chrom and the others returned to their camp was subdued. Lissa was crying uncontrollably on Chrom's bed cot while Robin tried to comfort her, while Sully and Virion had awkwardly excused themselves. This left Chrom and Frederick with a decision to make.

'Dammit!' Chrom growled, slamming his fist down on the map table suddenly. 'I will not let it end like this!'

Lissa looked at him, sparing a moment from her sadness to ask, 'What are we going to do, big brother?'

A determined look crossed Chrom's face.

'We are going to get to Ylisstol as soon as we can and we are not going to let Yana leave, dragon or no dragon!'

'But it's because of that dragon that she will most likely be long gone before we get there,' Lissa pointed out tearfully. 'There's no way that we'll be able to beat them there.' Chrom's shoulders sagged as he realised that she was right.

Robin chose that moment to speak up. 'Actually, I think we will,' she said. 'Or at least arrive before she leaves.' Chrom and the others looked at Robin questioningly and she elaborated. 'She probably won't have Raye land IN the city, or anywhere near it. They'll most likely land far from the capitol and go the rest of the way on foot. If we send a message ahead for the guards to look out for a blue haired woman in a green silk dress and accompanied by a tall, green haired man dressed in red clothes with a black metal chest plate, greaves and armguards who also has a headband on, we might be able to delay them long enough for us to arrive.' She thought for a moment then. 'And we could also have Frederick and Sully go on ahead as well, seeing as they would definitely be able to recognise them, unless they're really good at disguising themselves.'

'What if they are?' Lissa asked, though a look of hope was starting to appear on her face.

'Raye's armour is distinctive enough, and he seems like the sort of man who would never take it off, that he at least will be easy to spot. As for Yana, the two of them are never far apart, at least it seemed that way to me, so there's good odds that they will be together.' Robin shrugged. 'At least, that's how I see it anyway.'

She suddenly blushed as both Chrom and Lissa went up to her and hugged her tightly, Chrom even kissing her briefly on the cheek.

'Thank you Robin,' Chrom said, pulling back and smiling warmly at her. 'Gods, but it was certainly a blessing when we found you! Your plan is a good one and I will do everything I can to see it succeed.' He turned to Frederick. 'Come on, my old friend, we have a wayward sister to catch!'

With that, the two men hurried out of the tent, leaving Robin Lissa behind. Lissa was looking much more cheerful now that they had a prospective plan to catch up to Yana.

'Seriously, thank you Robin,' she said, hugging the other woman again. She then looked up at Robin with a mischievous look on her face. 'Chrom certainly seemed grateful, huh? Don't think I missed that kiss on the cheek he gave you!'

Her cheeks a blazing red colour, similar to Raye's scales in fact, Robin quickly detached herself from the hug and hurried out of the tent after Chrom and Frederick. Lissa sniggered and followed her.

'Watch out Yana!' she thought to herself determinedly. 'When we find you, I'm gonna make sure that you feel the love that Chrom, Emmeryn and me have shared all these years! We have a lot of catching up to do!'

 _Well, that's that for chapter two. I hope that you enjoyed it, however slightly, and that you are wanting more._

 _I will try to update this story as much as I can, maybe at most three times a week. I am just as eager as you to see where this story takes us._

 _In regards to Raye's dragon form, think of something along the lines of Saphira from the Inheritance Cycle (Christopher Paolini), but obviously more masculine. His horns are similar to those of a Skyrim ancient dragon._

 _Finally, if you have any thoughts or have a request as to the pairings (apart from Robin/Chrom and Tharja/Raye (yeah she's paired with him, sorry)), then let me know. Who do you think would be a good match for our wayward sister? She can swing both ways if necessary, something that was actually missing in Awakening, but I was glad to see in Fates._

 _Ciao until next time!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Just wanted to pop in before you start reading and say that this will be a shorter chapter than the first two, since it will focus more on Yana as she tries to cope with the revelations and potential fallout from Chapter Two._

 _Enjoy!_

-Chapter 3- Wayward Sister, Comforting Dragon-

Yana cried as Raye flew away from Chrom and the others, bursting through the clouds and then settling into a glide just above them. He didn't say anything, letting his passenger process all of the emotions that had built up during her confrontation with her supposed family.

Eventually, Yana wiped the tears from her eyes and straightened, trying to collect herself.

' _You all better?'_ Raye asked when he saw that she had recovered somewhat, his voice distorted as it always was when he spoke in his dragon form. _'What exactly happened before I showed up?'_

The cleric didn't reply immediately, but eventually said in a low, sad voice, 'I…I found my family…' She felt a twitch of surprise come from the dragon.

' _Really? Then why are we flying AWAY from them?'_ he asked curiously. _'Wasn't it always your desire to find your family, for good or ill?'_

'It's…not that simple,' Yana sighed, looking out over the dawn sky that lit up the top of the clouds as they flew above them. 'Turns out they're of the Exalted bloodline, meaning…'

' _Meaning that you, too, are of the Exalted…'_ Raye finished for her. He then let out a puff of smoke in amusement. _'Well, of all the people you could have been related to, I was not expecting that! You certainly aren't what I'd envisioned a princess would be!'_ A tremor of laughter ran through Raye's body and a low growl of equal mirth accompanied it.

His passenger lightly slapped the spike she was holding onto, a small smile on her lips. 'Shush you, it was a very emotional moment for me!' Yana went quiet as she thought about her confrontation and sighed sadly as she realised that she might have overreacted. Still, she didn't regret what she had said. 'Whatever, any family that would just abandon their baby is a family I want nothing to do with.' She spoke in a slightly obstinate voice, a tone that Raye saw through almost immediately.

' _Be careful what you say, Yana,'_ he growled warningly. _'You might never have another chance to get to know your family if you decide to go down this path.'_

'I…I don't care!' Yana said, though after what Raye had just said she could feel that her words were becoming hollow and unsure.

Raye craned his neck so that he was able to observe Yana with one eye, its deep, golden depths sucking her in as she stared back. He resumed looking forwards and said, _'Liar. You wouldn't be this upset about leaving them if you didn't have even a small desire to get to know them.'_ He brought his tail up and around and lightly flicked Yana on her head. _'Now, want to try and say that again?'_

Yana lightly rubbed the top of her head as Raye withdrew his tail, a childish look of annoyance on her face. She then went quiet, as she contemplated Raye's words.

They flew in silence for several hours, Raye humming a song as he made his way to Ylisstol, which he was able to already see with his draconic sight. When it started to get darker, he began looking for a place to land, finally settling down on the banks of a river. He waited as Yana carefully slid down his wing and when she was a safe distance away transformed back into his human self.

Stretching his arms and yawning, Raye glanced at Yana, who had walked over to crouch at the edge of the water. He saw that she seemed to be contemplating her reflection, while absentmindedly rubbing the shoulder with the Mark of the Exalt on it. Shaking his head and sighing internally, he walked over and stood beside her, waiting for her to speak.

'Raye…' Yana eventually began. 'Am I a horrible person?' In his reflection, she saw Raye raise an eyebrow and looked up at him, a look of self-loathing on her face. 'Chrom and Lissa could be my family and I completely alienated them, accusing them of being liars and…and…oh, gods! Lissa was so miserable and I…I didn't even try to comfort her!' She put her head in her hands, tears beginning to form in her eyes again. 'Even if I accepted that I AM their sister, they must hate me now! There's no going back, and worst thing is I won't be able to get any help from Exalt Emmeryn! Our village might even be gone by now, and you're not there to protect it since the head cleric decided to send you with me! Gods, I'm such a burden on everyone! Maybe that's why I was abandoned, maybe…'

She was cut off as Raye, who had knelt down as she spoke, suddenly flicked a handful of water at her, hitting her in the face and causing her to splutter.

'Raye! What in Naga's name did you do that for?' she whined, wiping the water from her face and throwing him an annoyed look.

Raye returned the look with his own. 'I should be asking you the same thing! Stop talking such nonsense; I'm about to give you a life lesson that I think you need.' He waited to make sure that she wasn't going to interrupt him before continuing. 'Right…first of all, Chrom and Lissa aren't going to hate you. They were very sincere with their words, from what I could tell. Second, you're right, Lissa was miserable and it WAS your fault, but that just proves my first point. Even though you just found each other, the instinctive bond of family was formed as soon as it was found that you were actually related.' He then smiled slightly. 'Besides, you have my mother's mark on you. If you want any proof of your lineage, that's all you need.'

At Raye's last words, Yana looked up at him suspiciously. 'Hang on…did you know I had the Mark of the Exalt all this time? And who do you mean 'mother'?' Her eyes widened as she realised what he had meant. 'Oh…Naga's your mother…isn't she?'

'Technically, she's the mother of all divine dragons if you believe the stories,' Raye pointed out, before letting out a sad sigh. 'But if you MUST know, yes…Naga happens to be my actual mother, not that she or any of the other's would remember…'

'What do you mean?' Yana asked, curiosity overriding her previous emotions.

Raye let out an annoyed huff. 'Hey, we're here to talk about _your_ family, not mine!'

Yana raised an eyebrow and sat back, crossing her arms as she did so. 'Nope, you've got my attention now, so if you want me to listen to you about anything else, you have to tell me YOUR story.' She cocked her head, studying the man before her. 'I mean, we all knew that you were a Manakete, the village was made to shelter you, but I was never told anything other than that. You also have to tell me why you never told me what the mark was.'

Raye scratched the back of his head in annoyance before shaking his head and giving in. 'Fine, whatever…' He then sat down next to her, looking out over the water as he spoke.

'Well, as you know, the divine dragon tribe decided to become manaketes so that they could help guide humanity even as our own tribe began to fade away. I joined my mother as she led our tribe, even beginning to enjoy my new life. However, a few thousand years later, Grima, the self-proclaimed Fell Dragon appeared and almost destroyed everything.' Raye's eyes darkened as he recalled the events of the past. 'So, a plan was made: since there were almost no divine dragons left, my mother included, apart from myself, my sister and some scattered across the world, Naga and I decided that I should be the one to confront him, not as a manakete, but as pure dragon. There wasn't an easy way to return me to such a state, and my mother was extremely hesitant about the plan anyway, but we eventually stumbled on a way for me to regain my full divine dragon power.'

'What did you do?' Yana asked, eyes wide as she hung onto his every word.

Raye smiled thinly. 'We broke my dragonstone, and when it was shattered I felt my power return to me. Unfortunately, with my power returned I became overconfident and immediately went to face Grima, though my mother pleaded with me to wait until she could organize reinforcements.' He then chuckled. 'I suppose I should have waited in hindsight. When I faced Grima, I found that I had vastly overestimated my returned power and would have been killed if Naga hadn't managed to save me at the last second. However, the damage was done and I could feel my life beginning to fade. My mother, or at least her spirit anyway, held my head in her hands and I remember the feel of her tears on my face as I began to fade away. Fortunately, it seemed that my mother had other ideas. She produced the remains of my dragonstone and poured some of her remaining power into it. This repaired it and she whispered to me that if I sealed what little power I had back into it I would be able to survive. Not wanting to leave my sister alone in the world, I did so, but there was a great cost.'

'I found out that since she had used some of her power to fix my stone, my mother had unfortunately lost some of her memories. No prizes for guessing which ones she lost.' Raye again chuckled, though this time Yana could detect an undertone of excruciating pain. 'When I found that out, I realised that it had been my fault, MY hubris, that had caused this and I fled, ashamed of what I had forced my mother to do. I briefly visited the sleeping place of my younger sister before disappearing from the eyes of both man and manakete. In my mind, I became the Forgotten Dragon, a fitting fate for perhaps the most foolish and arrogant of the divine dragon tribe.' He looked away so that Yana couldn't see the film of moisture that seemed to be obscuring his vision. 'It seemed to work, since I have not seen, nor heard, of any mention of me in any of the recent texts of man in all the centuries of my self-imposed exile, not that I would deserve to be acknowledged after what I've done. I was already suffering from my current affliction at that point anyway, so it was either exile or death in the end.' Raye sighed and looked back at Yana. 'And that's my story.'

He then got to his feet and looked sternly down at Yana, who had a look of curiosity and awe on her face. 'Now do you see why you should never suggest abandoning your family, even if you'd never met them before? Don't make my mistake because trust me when I say that it's not worth it.' He smiled sadly. 'We all need family in our lives, no matter what situation we find ourselves in.'

Yana looked down at her hands, which were folded in her lap. She then glanced at the Mark of the Exalt that was on her shoulder and sighed.

'Okay, I see your point…' she said reluctantly. 'Maybe…maybe after I visit your mother's temple I'll…I'll seek Chrom and Lissa out…'

'That's all I ask, Yana,' Raye replied, a look of satisfaction on his face. He made to turn away but was interrupted when Yana cleared her throat pointedly and looked over his shoulder at her. 'Yeah, what?'

'Why did you not tell me what the mark was?' she said, shooting him an overly sweet smile that somehow unnerved him.

'Er…because I was the one that found you. I read the note and when I saw the mark I knew where you'd come from,' he said, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. 'I figured that there was a good reason for the Exalted family to leave their child, though why at MY village I don't know, so I never mentioned it to anyone, not even the people that took you in.' He paused. 'So…sorry, I guess…'

Yana shook her head and got to her feet as well. 'There's no need to apologise. I think it was better that you didn't tell me who I really was anyway.' When he raised an eyebrow at her, Yana elaborated. 'It meant that I grew up with a completely different outlook on life. Besides, I'd choose the life of a cleric to that of a princess any day.' She then paused thoughtfully. 'Then again…I'm saying that without ever having experienced what life as a princess might have been like…' She suddenly grinned mischievously. 'Maybe I'll catch up on that?'

Raye shook his head in exasperation but smiled as well. 'Glad to see that you're coming to terms with your lineage in any case. Just don't let it go to your head.'

'I would never dream of doing that…your _Holiness…_ ' Yana replied slyly. A growl from her companion caused her to laugh. 'Sorry, couldn't resist!'

'Maybe you should've been a jester instead of a cleric, with such a sharp wit as you apparently have,' Raye grumbled. 'Come on, let's get some sleep. We'll eat when we arrive at Ylisstol, unless you want to go back to Chrom and the others?'

Yana thought about the offer but shook her head after a few moments. 'No, I'm too embarrassed to face them right now, but I promise that if we get to Ylisstol before them I'll wait until they arrive and the approach them.'

'Alright, but I'm holding you to that.'

With a snort, Raye climbed a tree, laid down on a large branch near its top and promptly went to sleep. Yana tried to join him, but when she ripped the dress that Lissa had given her, she huffed and decided to sleep on a lower branch.

As sleep began to overtake her, Yana's final thoughts were of Chrom and Lissa and whether they would forgive her.

 _Well, we come to the end of another, albeit shorter, chapter of Twin Destinies._

 _I hope that I haven't overpowered Raye too much, but I feel like I've balanced him out with his affliction, officially mentioned for the first time in this chapter, although it's really just his Inner Fire/Slumbering Rage abilities of his theoretical game character. I would like to assure you that he will not do too much other than give advice, interact and have only a partial impact on any of the combat scenes due to said affliction._

 _To explain further, he suffers the same rage that many dragons have fallen to before him. This is due to the fact that he had his full powers restored to him rather forcefully when he and Naga broke his dragonstone. It caused him to rapidly begin going down that path, but ironically it was his defeat at Grima's hands that saved him, since it led to Naga sacrificing part of her power to repair Raye's dragonstone, thereby allowing him to reseal his divine power. Unfortunately, it was slightly too late, and ever since he has had to exercise extreme caution, and meditate quite a bit, so that he doesn't completely fall to the rage._

 _In regards to the dragonstones, what are your thoughts on how I used its destruction as a way for a dragon to regain his full power? Do you think it would be possible? I would like to know what you think and if it's plausible in the first place._

 _I hope that I'm still holding your interest and I will hopefully make the next chapter longer. I'm looking forward to how the reunion of the Exalted family go down, and I have some ideas on how to write it, so please look forward to it._

 _Ciao for now!_


	4. Chapter 4

-Chapter Four- Tentative Introductions-

' _Shall we land?'_ Raye asked, again in his dragon form as they approached Ylisstol. _'Or, since you now plan on facing the truth, do you want me to make a grand entrance? There's always the possibility that your family sent word ahead to delay you in some capacity, descriptions of both of us included.'_

Yana snorted. 'Be honest; you just want to show off, don't you?'

Raye hummed in amusement. _'Maybe…it's been so long since I've been outside the village and seen the rest of the world. Though I suppose that it would be awkward if word got back to certain people, my sister first and foremost.'_

'Why do you say that?'

' _Because I don't know if she has, or would ever, forgive me for abandoning her,'_ Raye replied, a tone of sadness underlying his words. _'And also because I don't know how I would be able to handle it if she decided to come and confront me, if she even remembers that she has a brother in the first place.'_ He paused as he contemplated his own words. _'Then again…if she doesn't remember then I guess all of my worries are really for naught…eh, whatever, what happens happens I guess.'_

Yana raised her eyebrows. 'You know…divine dragon you may be, but sometimes you sound like a complete idiot.' At a low growl of annoyance from her friend, she laughed. 'I'm just saying that you are worrying about the same things I was, only YOU kept your family away for a thousand years!'

Raye snapped his jaws warningly, but only made his passenger laugh again. He then let out a deep sigh and returned to his previous question. _'So, land away from the capitol, or right near the gates?'_

'Hmm…' Yana mused for a moment, before a mischievous look crossed her face. 'You know what, since I'm going through with this I might as well enjoy myself before I inevitably end up crying again, which I can say with conviction is going to happen.'

' _You do appear to be doing that more often lately,'_ Raye said sarcastically, though internally he was amused. _'I wonder why?'_

'Shut up…your Holiness…'

' _I'm never going to hear the end of that, am I?'_

Yana grinned. 'Nope.'

Another sigh rumbled from the throat of her companion before he replied. _'Speaking of, keep my true origins between us. I don't want humans bowing to me or anything, better to have them think I'm just a regular manakete.'_

'Er…you realise you just being a manakete in the first place is liable to make them worship you anyway, right?' Yana pointed out.

Raye was silent for a moment before, incredibly and much to the amusement of Yana, somehow hitting himself over the head with a wing and causing them to lurch for a moment.

'You really are an idiot, aren't you?'

There was no response from the dragon except for a single, annoyed huff.

To say that the early morning guard duty was dull was putting it lightly, a fact that was making gate-guard Lucian yawn. Although, as he admitted to himself later, he would take boredom over having a massive dragon land practically in front of him any day.

It began when a tired looking knight who had identified herself as Sully of Prince Chrom's shepherds had been admitted through after giving proof of her identity. Lucien himself had asked the insignia of the Shepherds, whereby she had thrust a pendent with the insignia on it towards him after she had retrieved it from her saddlebag. After looking it over and seeing that it was genuine, he had returned the pendent and nodded at the guards above, letting them know that they could let her through.

Before she had left, she had told him to be on the lookout for a woman in a green dress with long blue hair accompanied by a warrior in black armour with green hair. When he had asked why, Sully had tersely said that it was a personal request from Prince Chrom himself. With that, she had made all hast into the city, leaving a slightly confused Lucian to look after her before turning back to face the road.

That had been almost an hour ago, and no people had arrived since. Lucian was diligent though and was still watching out for people of the descriptions given making their way towards the city.

Unfortunately, he never thought to look to the sky and, even more unfortunately, Sully had failed to mention that there might have been a dragon involved.

The first sign of the approaching dragon came from one of the guards patrolling the walls. The man, one Olaf, squinted when he saw a large shape moving at a surprising pace through the skies towards Ylisstol. He rubbed his eyes and looked closer. Olaf's eyes widened in fear when he realised what he was looking at and quickly spoke up.

'DRAGON!' he yelled, pointing in the direction of the approaching shape.

At his shout, all of the guards froze and looked in his direction before following his finger and seeing what he had spotted. Some of the guards panicked, while the more level headed of them immediately sounded the alarm.

Lucian, for his part, was trembling. He was the only guard on the ground, and if the dragon decided to attack from there he really doubted that he stood a chance. Still, his life was for Ylisse and the Exalt, so he forced himself to straighten, gritting his teeth as he prepared for what he felt was inevitable and untimely demise.

However, what happened surprised him so much that he felt like he was still suffering from a hangover…from several days ago.

Instead of attacking once it had reached the walls of the city, the dragon merely landed gracefully a few feet from them. Even more surprising, the guards immediately saw the young woman that was sitting between two spikes on the dragon's back and watched, mouths open comically in shock, as the woman slid down one of the dragon's wings.

When the woman touched the ground, the dragon ruffled its wings, stepped away from her and was engulfed in a blaze of fire. When the inferno had dissipated, in its place was a man roughly the same age as the woman.

'A manakete…' one of the guards breathed, almost reverently, as he watched the man and the woman walk towards the gates. 'I don't believe it…'

Lucian, also staring in shock, shook himself as the woman approached him. Studying her, he realised that this woman, with her blue hair and green dress and the man who was wearing black metal armour and who had green hair, must have been the two people that Sully had told him about. With this in mind, he warily brought his spear up and barred their way.

'Er…excuse me, miss, but I have to stop you there,' he said, in a slightly hesitant voice. 'We…well I…was told to look out for people matching your descriptions and to detain them until someone came to deal with you…' He gulped when the man, previously a large dragon, chuckled.

'See, what did I tell you?' he said smugly to his companion. 'I knew they would someone ahead of them to head you off at the pass!'

'More like the gates, but fine; you were right,' the woman replied, rolling her eyes before looking at Lucian and smiling. Her smile sent a pleasant jolt up Lucian's spine and he found himself smiling back at her as she said, 'If it's all the same to you, I have business I need to attend to at the Temple of Naga. If I promise not to make any trouble, do you think that I could be let through?'

'The Temple of Naga? Some sort of cleric, are you?' Lucian asked.

The woman nodded. 'Yes, I am Sister Yana, of Rielet village.'

'Rielet village, huh? Don't think I've ever heard of it.'

'Probably not, we're on the border between Ylisse and Plegia and generally keep to ourselves.'

'Then why are you here now?' Lucian asked, now becoming suspicious. He realised that one of the Shepherds wouldn't have been ordered by Prince Chrom to detain these two without a reason.

'Because I was asked by the head cleric of Rielet to request some form of aid, though not to expect it, and to offer my services if help was actually given,' Yana replied smoothly. 'I've also wanted to pay my respects to Naga at her temple in the capitol of Ylisse for some time now.' Unknown to Lucian, Yana was mentally cringing as she told only part of the truth to the poor guard.

Lucian contemplated Yana's words, making her sweat a little, before sighing and motioning for the guards above to raise the gates and let her through. As the pair passed him he said warningly, 'You better not do anything funny, yeah? If you do, it'll be my head on the chopping block and I'll remember who put it there.'

At these words, the man stiffened and glared at Lucian, but Yana quickly put a hand on his arm and gently led him away, saying over her shoulder as the two walked into the city, 'I'll be sure to heed your words, sir. Thank you for letting us in.'

As they disappeared, Lucian breathed a sigh of relief and turned to once again face the direction of the road, still rattled by what had happened.

Early morning guard duty really was dull, though todays had been much less so. Lucian would be sure to ask for hazard pay the next time he saw his commanding officer.

'Milord, we are in sight of the capitol,' Frederick's deep voice said, cutting through Chrom's thoughts of Yana.

'Yes, thank you Frederick,' he said, shaking himself and looking forwards.

They had been marching non-stop for the last few hours, Chrom and Lissa's need to arrive at Ylisstol before Yana disappeared forever driving them through their fatigue.

Chrom looked over at Lissa, who had a mixed expression of excitement and apprehension on her face.

'Do…do you think we'll make it in time?' she asked Chrom nervously when she noticed him look in her direction.

'I'm sure we will, Sully knows how to make a point and have it stick,' Chrom reassured her. Even so, he couldn't help a little worm of doubt from entering his mind even as they approached the city gates.

When they got there, they found an agitated guard by the name of Lucian, who looked immensely relieved to see who was approaching.

'Your highness, thank Naga that you've arrived!' the guard said, his tone mirroring his relieved stance.

'Guardsman, what's wrong?' Frederick asked, concerned.

'You won't believe this, but a dragon landed right in front of the gate nearly an hour ago!' Lucian reported, straightening slightly at Frederick's commanding tone.

At this, Chrom and Lissa shared an excited look and Chrom asked Lucian, 'Was there a woman with him, by any chance?'

'Yes, and her and the dragon…manakete…were the two people that your Lady Sully warned us about.'

'Where are they?' Chrom asked quickly.

'The lady said that she would be at Naga's Temple…'

Chrom didn't wait to hear the rest of what Lucian had to say and instead dismounted from his horse and raced into the city. After gingerly getting down from her own horse, Lissa followed him, leaving Frederick, Virion and Robin behind with a surprised Lucian.

'Well, let's hope their conversation goes better than last time,' Robin commented, dismounting as she spoke.

'Indeed…' was Frederick's only reply as he led the way into Ylisstol.

Virion, on the other hand, wasted no time and walked close to Robin, attempting to lace an arm through hers.

'Ah, my lovely Robin, I am sure that our prince and princess will handle themselves with wit and decorum!' he said smoothly. 'Now though, let us talk about how you and I will spend our time together while they converse with the equally lovely cleric! Perhaps a tour of the town, since I am as new to this city as you are?'

'And how would that be efficient since, like you said, you're also new to Ylisstol?' Robin asked, an eyebrow raised as she shook her arm out of Virion's. 'One would think that a tour would require at least one of us to have a working knowledge of the city proper.'

'Ah, but you have caught me, my dear lady! Alas, it is true that I cannot show you around efficiently, but perhaps a shared new experience will warm your heart to my humble self?'

Robin rolled her eyes and instead moved so that she was walking closer to Frederick. 'If it's all the same to your 'humble self', I think I'll wait until Chrom or Lissa are free.'

Virion merely smiled and winked at her. 'One of these days, this man of men, the most archest of archers, will capture the lovely bird!'

'Now you just sound like a predator,' Robin shot back, though there was ghost of a smile on her lips. 'Maybe think about what you say before you speak, hmm?'

"IF the two of you could stop this flirting, I must make my way to the temple,' Frederick interrupted them before Virion could reply. 'Perhaps you two should make your way to the Shepherds' barracks?'

'Nah, if it's all the same to you, I want to tag along,' Robin said. 'Yana's my friend, and so are Chrom and Lissa, and if I can I want to help them as much as possible. It won't be easy for any of them and I think that they could use another level head other than yours.'

Frederick looked as if he wanted to refuse her, but when he thought about it he grudgingly saw the merit to Robin's words. However, he pointed at Virion and said, 'I suppose Robin can accompany me, but YOU…you make your way to the barracks and report to whoever's there. Tell them that I sent you and that you are joining the Shepherds.'

'But…' Virion made to protest, but Frederick cut him off with a glare and he sighed and relented, asking, 'So, where should I go?'

The great knight looked around and grabbed the arm of a passing guardsman.' Can you please show this…gentleman…to the Shepherd's barracks?' He gestured towards Virion.

Seeing who it was that had accosted him, the guardsman nodded and motioned for Virion to follow him. With one last wink at Robin, answered by another roll of her eyes, Virion followed the other man and soon disappeared in the crowd.

'Well, are you coming or not?' Frederick asked Robin impatiently.

'Yep, just waiting on you, Freddy.'

'Do not call me that!' Frederick barked. 'At most, you are to address me as 'SIR' Frederick.'

'Whatever you say…'SIR' Freddy…'

As Robin giggled to herself, Frederick sighed as he led the way in the direction of the temple.

' _Because I need ANOTHER Lissa to watch out for,'_ he complained to himself.

In the Temple of Naga, Yana was kneeling and praying to the statue to the goddess the temple was dedicated to. Raye was off to the side, studying the statue with a look of sadness in his eyes, though he kept as silent as Yana and the other clerics were.

The two of them had arrived just before the clerics had begun their morning vigil and Yana had requested to join them. When the other clerics had discovered that she was also a sister cleric, they had warmly welcomed her and not long after the vigil had begun.

That had been nearly an hour ago, and Raye was starting to get restless. However, when the doors to the temple suddenly burst open with a loud bang, he looked over instantly, though Yana and the clerics remained in their kneeling positions.

He grunted when he saw that it had been Chrom and Lissa who had barged into the temple and pushed himself away from the wall, nearly drawing his sword until he remembered where he was. Instead, he limited himself to standing in the path of the two royals, who instantly recognised him.

'Raye…where's Yana?' Chrom wasted no time asking, sweeping his eyes around the room. He quickly saw Yana's distinct blue hair and green dress and immediately tried to walk towards her but was stopped by a shake of Raye's head.

'Sorry, but could you wait until after they finish?' the manakete asked them. 'It should be over soon.'

'But…'

Raye held up a hand and pointed over his shoulder at the stature of Naga. 'You do realise that it would be pretty blasphemous for the brother of the Exalt to interrupt such a religious event, don't you?' At a glare from Chrom, Raye raised an eyebrow in amusement and crossed his arms. 'Relax, your highness, I convinced Yana to talk with you so save your energy for the conversation to follow.'

At his words, Chrom relaxed. 'Oh…well…thank you I suppose.'

With that he grabbed Lissa, who was practically bouncing up and down with joy at seeing Yana, by the arm and led her to one of the benches that lined the walls of the temple. They sat impatiently for almost a further twenty minutes, during which Frederick and Robin arrived and soon sat next to them, before Yana and the clerics stirred and got to their feet. When they saw this, the two royal siblings also got to theirs and quickly made their way towards Yana, who was conversing with the High Priestess of Naga, an older woman by the name of Lydia. Frederick and Robin decided to hang back for a moment, Raye doing the same.

'So, is it alright if I return tomorrow?' Yana was asking nervously.

'Of course, my child! It is refreshing to see a fellow sister come from so far away to pay respects to our lady,' High Priestess Lydia said in a serene voice. She then noticed Chrom and Lissa approaching and a look of surprise crossed her face. 'Your highnesses…it is rare to see you here outside of a holy day though the temple is always open to you. To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?'

'Um, if it's no trouble, we've actually come to speak with Yana here,' Chrom said, slightly hesitantly as he saw Yana tense at their approach. 'If we could take her off your hands for a moment?'

The High Priestess looked at Yana, who nodded while staring at the ground. 'Well…if she has no problem with it, then I suppose I can take my leave.' She then embraced Yana, who returned it reflexively. 'If you need anything else, child, I will not be far.' Yana smiled gratefully at Lydia before the priestess walked away.

Once the priestess was out of ear-shot Chrom and Lissa approached Yana cautiously while Raye watched keenly a few feet away.

'So…you haven't tried to run away yet?' Chrom blurted out and immediately earned himself an elbow in his side.

'What my…OUR…brother is trying to say is…how are you, Yana?' Lissa asked, looking at Yana with a look of uncertainty in her eyes.

Yana took a deep breath before replying. 'I'm…doing a lot better than I was before, Lissa, thank you.' She smiled and gestured at Raye. 'I suppose it helped that I had a stubborn dragon around to make me see sense.'

What happened next came as a surprise to Chrom and Lissa.

Yana's eyes filled with tears before she stepped forward and drew both of her recently discovered siblings into a tight embrace. After a moment of surprise, Chrom and Lissa returned the embrace and Yana let out a sob.

'I'm…I'm so sorry for what I said to you two!' she cried. 'It was…it was just too much for me to take in at the time!' She then sniffed and looked up at Chrom, who was slightly taller than her by an inch or so. 'You were right; I judged your family without knowing the true circumstances at the time. I hope you can forgive me for I said, especially about your mother.'

'As long as you start saying 'OUR' family,' Chrom said, struggling to hold back his own tears. 'It might take a while, but I promise you that both Lissa and I, as well as Emmeryn I suspect, will make up for the lost time as much as we can!'

'Th…that's for sure!' Lissa chimed in, her smile contrasting with the tears that were streaming down her face. 'I promise to be the best little sister that you can have!' She then pouted as she suddenly realised something. 'But it does kinda suck that you're my OLDER sister! Why couldn't you have been at least my age?'

Yana and Chrom chuckled while Raye rolled his eyes as he now walked over to the reunited family, even as Frederick and Robin mirrored his movement.

'You know, I was half expecting there to be an argument of some sort,' he snorted. 'Chrom and Lissa having to plead their case while you stood there and made them work for it was foremost in my mind. This is much less amusing.'

'Oh, shush you,' Yana grinned through her tears. 'Don't try and pretend you aren't even a little smug about how this turned out.'

Raye thought for a moment before smiling, genuinely this time. 'Yeah, alright…I may be a little happy that I was able to make you see sense.'

He was then surprised when Lissa broke out of the embrace to run over to him and throw her arms around his shoulders, dragging him down so that she could kiss him on the cheek.

'Thank you, Raye!' she said cheerfully. 'I took you to be sort of aloof, but I guess you're just a big, cuddly dragon underneath that grim exterior, huh?' At this, Yana and Robin burst out laughing and even Chrom and Frederick chuckled as Raye went red in the face.

He pushed his way out of Lissa's embrace and coughed, turning his head away. 'I wouldn't say I'm _that_ grim looking…' he mumbled.

Lissa giggled and poked him in the cheek. 'Whatever, I can see right through you, mister! In any case, I really am grateful for you being there for Yana.'

'As am I,' Chrom echoed, moving forward and clapping a hand on the manakete's shoulder. 'Without you, I have no doubt that Yana would have run away as soon as her business here was done.' At the continued praise, Raye snorted, though they could all see a small smile on his face as he turned away and walked towards the entrance of the temple.

'Just make sure you ease her into this, Prince Chrom,' he said over his shoulder.

'Wait, where are you going?' Yana asked quickly, taking a step forward as she panicked over the possibility of her friend leaving.

However, she needn't have worried as Raye replied, 'Just going to go and stretch my wings, maybe get some breakfast. You're quite the slavedriver when you want to be, kid.'

'Just make sure you don't eat anyone or anything important!' Yana said.

'Yeah, yeah, I'm not an idiot!'

With that, Raye left the temple, leaving the others to smile at his departure.

'He sure is an interesting guy, huh?' Robin remarked as she and Frederick approached the three siblings.

Yana laughed. 'Interesting maybe, but he can be a bit of a jerk sometimes and he is most definitely an idiot…' She smiled as she continued. 'But I wouldn't be here if it weren't for him, and he's protected out village for as long as remember and for that I will always think fondly of him.'

At her words, Chrom frowned. 'About that…you said that the Plegians have been raiding your village, right?' Yana nodded. 'Now that we know that Raye's a manakete, a powerful one by the looks of it, how come he himself hasn't done anything about it?'

A sad look entered Yana's eyes at Chrom's questions. 'Because he can't risk losing control of himself. He's been around for several thousand years as far as I know and it's beginning to weigh heavily on him.' She didn't reveal the fact that it was actually due to how Raye had been saved by his mother and his defeat by Grima that was the real reason for his condition. 'That clearing that was burnt when you first met him? That was caused by his power going out of control.'

'Is he a danger to the capitol?' Frederick asked concernedly.

'No, he's able to keep himself in check as long as he doesn't smell blood for too long,' Yana hurried to assure the knight. 'He also spends a lot of his time either meditating or sleeping. The head cleric of Rielet told me that he once spent almost one hundred years asleep.' She smiled again as she continued. 'However, he prefers to be awake, saying that if he spent all of his time sleeping we would miss him.'

'As long as he doesn't burn down the capitol, I have no problem with his being here,' Chrom said. 'Like Lissa said, we owe him a lot for helping you out.' He then gently took Yana's arm. 'And speaking of helping you...do you want to meet your other sister?'

At this, a worried look appeared on Yana's face. 'If…if you think that's a good idea…I just hope that I don't cause any problems with my presence.'

'Nah, I'm sure that Emmeryn will be so happy to see you!' Lissa said in a determined voice. Chrom nodded in agreement.

'Well…alright then…' Yana replied, feeling a little better at Lissa's declaration and followed Chrom and Lissa as they led her out of the temple.

Robin and Frederick, following the three a moment later, shared a look.

'You reckon the Exalt is gonna be as agreeable as Lissa says?' Robin asked.

Frederick looked uncertain as he replied, 'Perhaps…but it will still take some getting used to having a new, previously unknown, member of the exalted bloodline show up out of nowhere. I fear for the political ramifications of Yana's presence once it becomes known who she really is, especially if her powers are revealed.'

'What do you mean?' Robin asked curiously.

'For all intents and purposes, Yana's ability to heal could very well be looked upon as a blessing from Naga herself,' Frederick explained. 'It also doesn't help that she is an active sister of Naga's faith. I doubt that it would happen, but if the church decides to back Yana…'

'Then those who might be against Exalt Emmeryn's way of ruling could use it to unseat her…' Robin mused.

'And put Yana on the throne, who doesn't seem like she would be able to say no to a lot of things put to her if she became the ruler of Ylisse.' Frederick shook his head, panicking slightly at all of the scenarios that were running through his head. 'She would essentially become a puppet, of both the church and whatever noble decided to take advantage of that.'

'But isn't Chrom the next successor after Emmeryn?' Robin pointed out.

'Not if it turns out that Yana is older than him, no matter how short a time there is between them,' Frederick replied. 'And anyway, milord has always expressed his displeasure at the thoughts of such an event.'

Robin thought about all that Frederick had told her before cheerfully slapping him on the shoulder and saying, 'Ah, you worry too much, Freddy! I'm sure that whatever happens, Yana won't take advantage of anything or let anyone take advantage of her. Besides, you're forgetting one, very big, thing…' At a confused look from Frederick, she sighed and mimed flapping wings with her arms. 'Yana currently has a bodyguard way more effective than anything someone could handle, yourself included…no offense. I highly doubt that anyone would be stupid to try anything with Raye around.'

'Stop calling me 'Freddy',' Frederick said absentmindedly as he considered Robin's words. 'I suppose…you're right…having a dragon as a companion is sure to make people pause.' He then smiled suddenly, something that unnerved Robin somewhat having never seen the great knight with that particular expression on his face. 'Yes, perhaps I AM worrying about nothing. As much as I hate to say this, thank you Robin for putting my mind at some sort of ease.'

'Yeah…just don't ever smile again and we'll call it square…' Robin replied. 'Seriously…'

Eventually, the group made it to the palace that was situated in the centre of the city. Chrom led the way to where he knew Emmeryn would be and knocked on the door. A moment later he opened it and walked into what was the map room of the palace and also where all of the war-planning was held.

Standing near a window as she looked over the city was a woman, slightly shorter than Chrom but clearly a few years older, with shoulder-length blonde hair similar to Lissa's that she had styled in a pair of twintails that hung over her shoulders towards her front, and held together at the back with a large headpiece in the shape of an elegant circle, and wearing an exquisite looking green dress. When she turned around to look at who had entered the room, Yana immediately noticed that the woman had the same mark that she and Chrom had, only hers was on her forehead.

As Frederick closed the door behind him, the woman smiled in relief and hurried to embrace Chrom and Lissa.

'Oh, it's good to see that the two of you arrived safely!' she said warmly in a soft voice. 'I was worried that you may have encountered the dragon that the guards at the gates reported! Even Phila was worried, though she'll never admit it.' She smiled at another woman, with light blue hair tied back, standing nearby.

'I was only worried about how my Pegasus knights would have to handle such a foe, your grace,' Phila replied shortly. 'Thankfully, the guards reported further that the dragon, or manakete as it turned out, meant no harm and was instead chaperoning…that woman actually…' She pointed at Yana as she noticed her.

At this, Emmeryn noticed the two strangers, more so Yana since she had been singled out and moved to greet them.

'Greetings, to the both of you,' she said. 'May I ask who the two of you are?'

Chrom was the one who took to introducing them. 'The woman in the dark coat is Robin. We found her unconscious in a field near Southtown, and it turned out that she's suffering from amnesia. The only things she knew were her own name and mine, for some odd reason.' He then smiled. 'But, during a banding attack on Southtown, we discovered that she has an amazing intellect and is incredibly gifted in the arts of tactics. I intend to make her the strategist of the Shepherds since she accepted my offer.'

Emmeryn studied Robin and noticed that the woman seemed to gravitate unconsciously to Chrom for safety. This observation amused her and she said, 'She is also rather beautiful and seems to have already formed an attachment with you, wouldn't you say Chrom?'

At her words, Robin blushed, Lissa giggled and Chrom spluttered as he said quickly, 'That…that's neither here nor there, Emm! I'm only interested in her mind right now, nothing else!'

''Right now'?' Emmeryn mused, pretending to ponder his words. 'And what of the future?'

'I…if we could move on…?' At an amused nod from Emmeryn, Chrom continued. 'Like I said, she's going to be the strategist of the Shepherds so I thought it would be appropriate to introduce her to you, especially since she's already helped me….US…so much.'

'Very well. Lady Robin, I thank you for looking after my younger siblings and hope that you find success with the Shepherds.' After shaking Robin's hand, Emmeryn then looked at Yana. 'And you are…?'

At this, Lissa tensed as Chrom took a deep breath before he proceeded to introduce Yana.

'Emm…this is Yana…we met her when she came bursting out of the forest near Southtown and she then led us to that manakete who arrived here with her,' Chrom explained nervously. 'He had told her to run when they had come under attack by a group of monsters that we now know to be called 'Risen'. They seem to be undead and we had our own encounter with them not too far away.'

'Undead? This is most worrying…' Emmeryn said concernedly. 'We have enough trouble with trying to keep the peace between Ylisse and Plegia; if these 'Risen' are going to become more of a threat…'

'Yes, they will be a massive danger to everyone in the Halidom, but I feel confident that the Shepherds will be able to handle it, especially with the added addition of a master tactician.' Chrom spared a smile at Robin before continuing. 'But…that's not the most surprising thing we found out that night…'

'What do you mean?'

'It…it will be easier if she shows you…' Chrom said, and gestured at Yana.

Closing her eyes momentarily, Yana then slowly slid up the left sleeve of her dress and turned slightly so that Emmeryn could see what was on her shoulder.

When Emmeryn realised what she was looking at, she raised her hands to her mouth in shock, her eyes flicking between the mark on Yana's shoulder to her eyes and then taking in the colour of her hair, which she now noted was the exact same shade of blue as Chrom's.

'Y…Yana…?' she whispered the name, though all could now detect the tone of recognition in her voice. 'Is…is that really you?'

At these words Chrom and Lissa stared at their older sister.

'Wait…you knew about Yana's existence?' Chrom asked quickly.

Emmeryn didn't take her eyes off of Yana's as she replied. 'Yes…but our mother swore me to secrecy when she had Yana taken away from us…'

'WHAT!?'

 _Eighteen years ago…_

' _Emmeryn…sweetie…I need you to promise me that you won't ever mention this to your younger brother,' Erina, queen of Ylisse, said sadly to her oldest child. 'If you say anything about this, your father might become very angry with you. So please…promise me that you will never say anything about this to anyone…for your mother…'_

 _Emmeryn, who had been woken up by the sounds of footsteps outside of her room, had opened her door to find her mother with the one year old Princess Yana cradled in her arms. She was accompanied by Sir Dewynn, the foremost knight of Ylisse and the king's personal champion._

' _Why, mommy? What are you doing with Yana?' Emmeryn asked now, slightly scared by how her mother was acting._

' _Because I cannot allow Yana to be exposed to your father's temper any longer. If I could also get you and Chrom out, I would, but your absence would be noticed immediately and Chrom is unfortunately in the room I share with your father.'_

' _But…but won't Yana be lonely without us?' Emmeryn asked tearfully as she tried to keep pace with Erina as the queen resumed her way down the corridor._

' _Yes, and that tears my heart apart more than anything, but this is the best way,' Erina replied, tears starting to fall from her eyes. 'I will just have to live with the knowledge and hope that Sir Dewynn can protect her and leave her somewhere she will be loved and nurtured.'_

' _I will do all that I can, my lady,' Sir Dewynn said softly. 'Princess Yana will not come to any harm on my watch.'_

' _Thank you, Dewynn, that makes me feel slightly better about this,' Erina replied, smiling slightly. She then looked down at Emmeryn and crouched so that the young girl could look at the peaceful sleeping face of her younger sister. 'Say goodbye, sweetie. I truly hope that one day Yana will be able to return to us, but I doubt that that will happen while your father still lives.'_

' _G…goodbye, Yana,' Emmeryn whispered. She kissed Yana on the forehead. 'I…I will miss you.'_

 _Emmeryn wept as her mother straightened and handed Dewynn the bundle that held her sister._

' _Ride as far and as fast as you can, Sir Dewynn,' Erina commanded softly. 'Take my daughter away from the insanity that is this place and watch over her.' She smiled tearfully. 'I'm sure she will grow up to a beautiful young lady, so try not to fall in love with her…otherwise I'll be forced to send the army after you.'_

 _Dewynn smiled sympathetically as he moved Yana into a more comfortable position. Yana stirred for a moment, grumbling softly, before going back to sleep._

 _With one last look at her daughter, Erina turned away, gently taking Emmeryn by the shoulder as she led the way back to the young princess's room. The last thing she saw of her sister was a fleeting glimpse of her blanket as Dewynn's broad back hurried in the opposite direction._

After Emmeryn had finished recounting the circumstances of Yana's disappearance, she then asked how old she was.

'Nineteen, your grace,' Yana replied, softly.

Emmeryn nodded and turned to Chrom. 'Chrom, you should know that Yana isn't just your sister, she's your _twin_ sister.' She smiled. 'Younger twin sister, actually, you were born two minutes before Yana.'

Chrom looked at Yana with a stunned expression. 'I guess…that makes sense. I mean, looking at her now…' He studied Yana, looking at her blue hair and eyes in a new light and the fact that her Exalted mark was on the opposite shoulder to his. 'I can definitely see it.' He then realised what Emmeryn had said and smiled slightly. 'I'm the older twin, huh? Heh…'

Lissa rolled her eyes. 'Oh , sure, make fun of her already why don't you?' She then shyly took Yana's hand. 'At least I won't be the ONLY younger sister this idiot has anymore.'

Yana smiled and embraced Lissa. 'I'm just glad that I have the chance to BE a younger sister.'

'Yeah…you're definitely going to be saying otherwise once you really get to know Chrom,' Lissa joked, her voice muffled since her face was pressed into Yana's neck.

'Right, and I'M the one who's going to scare Yana off,' Chrom sighed, but walked over to his two sister and embraced them both. 'Glad to have you here in any case…sister…'

'And I'm glad to be here…brother…' Yana replied, smiling as she said the last word.

The three stayed like that for several minutes, with Emmeryn smiling as she watched, before the Exalt cleared her throat.

When Chrom looked at her, she said, 'As much as I'd like to let you continue, I'm afraid that I had a mission for you.' As her now three siblings broke apart and gave her their attention, she continued. 'In light of these events, as well as your new reports of these Risen, I need you to go to Regna Ferox and speak with the Khans. We may need their troops to help with the renewed Plegian raids and the new Risen threat.'

'When do you need us to go?' Chrom asked, all business now.

'Tomorrow.'

At this, Chrom looked at his Emmeryn in surprise for a moment before nodding. Lissa, on the other hand, was slightly less agreeable with the plan.

'But what about Yana? ' she complained. 'I was planning on catching her up and showing her around the city!'

'I'm afraid that that will have to wait, Lissa,' Emmeryn said firmly. 'The sooner we secure the Feroxi's help, the sooner we can deal with these Risen.'

Yana was silent as Emmeryn, Chrom and Lissa argued, before she took advantage of a lull to say, 'Um…about that…maybe I could go along?'

Chrom looked at Yana questioningly. 'Why? Not that I wouldn't be glad of your company but the road to Regna Ferox will be arduous at best.'

Yana raised an eyebrow at him and crossed her arms. 'In case you've already forgotten, I'm rather adept at healing. If you and your Shepherds meet the Risen, you might need an extra healer, not that I think that Lissa is lacking in that department.' She smiled at Lissa as she spoke that last part. 'Also…where I go, so does Raye, and I suspect that you would be grateful for his help.'

'I will admit having a manakete along would be quite a boon…' Chrom replied, considering Yana's offer. He then smiled and clapped a hand on his twin's shoulder. 'Sure, why not? It'll also give us more time to get to know you, so that's an added benefit.'

'Yay, family outing!' Lissa cheered and flung her arms around Yana again.

'Was there anything else you needed, Emm?' Chrom asked as Yana struggled to release herself from Lissa's grip, laughing as she did so.

'No, that was all I needed to tell you,' Emmeryn replied. 'You are dismissed.' As Chrom and the other's made to leave, she gently took Yana by the arm and pulled her into a hug. 'It's good to see you again, Yana. I never thought that we would ever be reunited.'

'Um…thank you…' Yana replied awkwardly. She found herself sinking into Emmeryn's embrace, finding an odd sense of comfort in the Exalt's arms.

When the two women pulled away from the hug, they smiled happily at each other before Yana quickly followed Chrom and the others. Emmeryn sensed Phila next to her and looked at the Pegasus knight-captain.

'Yes, Phila? What is it?'

'Why didn't you tell them about your plan for while they are off to Regna Ferox?' Phila asked.

'Because I didn't want them to worry,' Emmeryn replied softly. 'They…WE…just reunited with our long lost sister; I didn't want to ruin the moment.'

Phila sighed but did not comment further.

'Come on Yana, you're gonna love being a Shepherd!' Lissa declared as she skipped ahead of the group making their way to the barracks. 'There are so many of us, and they've all got their little quirks!'

'There's really not that many of us,' Chrom corrected her. Speaking to Yana, he continued. 'We're not an army, or a regiment, we're more of a small elite force comprised of handpicked individuals. I'd say our numbers around fifty active Shepherds at the moment, but we'll only be taking a few with us to Regna Ferox.'

'I'm assuming it's so that we don't look threatening to these 'Khans', and also so that we move faster?' Robin asked and Chrom nodded.

'Exactly. Emmeryn wants this done as soon as possible and the Shepherds are the perfect people to see it through.'

Yana could detect the note of pride in Chrom's voice as he spoke of his personal force and smiled to herself, saying out loud, 'I hope that I can be of some help then.'

'I'm sure you will be, Yana,' Chrom assured her. 'After all, you have an incredible healing ability. Anyone would hire you if you were a mercenary.'

Yana smiled gratefully before Lissa grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the building they were approaching. As they walked inside, they were immediately surrounded by several people who Yana assumed were Shepherds.

'Lissa, my darling, let me have a look at you!' an elegant blonde girl with ringlets cried, grabbing the princess and dragging her away from the group.

Unfortunately, since Lissa still had a tight grip on Yana's arm, this caused the older cleric to stumble and bump into Robin, who in turn bumped into the girl and knocked her to the ground. This resulted into the ringletted girl furiously getting to her feet and confronting the coated woman.

'What do you think you are doing, you brute?' she demanded. 'Do you have ANY idea who I am?'

'Not really, no,' Robin replied, crossing her arms and looking unimpressed at the girl's behaviour. 'Considering that I just joined the Shepherds and all.'

At these words, the blonde looked horrified before turning to Chrom.

'Please, my lord, tell me that the Shepherds are not taking in every single vagabond that walks this earth?'

Chrom frowned at her and put a protective hand on Robin's shoulder. 'Actually Maribelle, Robin isn't just going to be joining us, she's also going to be our new tactician!'

'What, you don't like the Vaike's ideas anymore, Chrom?' a loud voice said as a large, muscular man without a shirt forced his way through the crowd to pound Chrom on the back in greeting. 'I can assure ya, Teach has awesome ideas still in his head!'

'I'm sure you do, Vaike, but I'd rather have someone who has ideas that involve more than just flexing their muscles at their enemies so that they get scared at the sight and run off making those sorts of decisions,' Chrom replied, wincing slightly as Vaike stepped back. 'Anyway, that's going to be Robin's new job so you can just keep your ideas to yourself from now on…please?'

'Yeah, that's cool! The Vaike needs to use all of his brain power to focus on his beautiful self!' As he spoke, Vaike preened himself and admire his biceps. He then noticed Yana, who was looking at him as if she was concerned for his mental state. Mistaking the look for one of admiration, he leered at Yana and quickly moved towards her. 'Hey, who are you, little lady? Another new Shepherd? If so, let Teach here show you around and maybe we can get more acquainted later in private?' The look he sent Yana's way left her in no doubt what he meant and quickly moved to stand beside Chrom.

At this, Vaike's face fell and he grumbled. 'Jeez, Chrom, why do all the ladies go for you all the time?'

'Perhaps it's because he does not behave like an absolute boor!' Maribelle said scornfully.

'What the hell does 'boor' mean?' Vaike asked, scratching his head. 'Cos whatever it means, I'm sure the Vaike ain't it!'

'And besides Vaike, I can assure you that Yana doesn't see me like that,' Chrom sighed.

'How do you mean?'

'It's because she's…my twin sister…'

There was silence in the barracks for several minutes before an absolute storm of noise assaulted Chrom and Yana's ears as everyone who hadn't been with them when Emmeryn had finally revealed the circumstances of Yana's past tried to ask questions at the same time.

'YOUR SISTER!?' Maribelle shrieked, all decorum forgotten at these this surprising revelation.

'Interesting…now that I look at her I can detect several evidences of exact matching proportions to you...' stated a female mage with a rather large hat whose name was Miriel. 'Tell us…what are the circumstances for her absence in your life?'

'The Vaike didn't know she was your sis, Chrom!' Vaike stuttered. 'Please forgive Teach, he would never hit on your sister!' He paused. 'Well…maybe not Lissa, cos she ain't got a hot body like Yana does…'

'WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!?' Lissa shouted and immediately took up her staff and advanced menacingly towards Vaike, who began backing away as he realized what he had said.

'Does this mean that she's going to be joining the Shepherds?' a young looking mage wearing blue robes named Ricken asked.

'Yeah, she and a friend of hers,' Chrom nodded as he grabbed hold of the back of Lissa's collar before she could whack Vaike over the head.

'So where's this friend of hers?' a man in green armour named Stahl asked, looking around. He jumped when he realized that a large man in even larger armour was standing right next to him. 'Oh…Kellam…didn't see you there buddy. Did you hear? That lady is Chrom's twin sister! Weird right?'

'Er…he was here the entire time, so I think he already knows…' Yana said before Kellam could speak. She then smiled and held out a hand to the knight. 'Good to meet you…Kellam, right?'

'Uh…yes…' Kellam replied, a little surprised as he shook her hand. 'So…you can see me?'

'Why…wouldn't I be able to?' Yana asked, confused.

'Not a lot of people can see me,' Kellam replied sadly.

Yana scoffed. 'How can that be? You wear such large armour I'd think out of anyone here you'd have the most presence!'

Chrom answered as he tried to focus his attention on where Kellam was supposed to be. 'Kellam just has the odd ability to blend into the background. Don't ask me how he does this, even Miriel doesn't know.'

'Indeed, a most vexing subject of research,' Miriel commented, adjusting her glasses as she too tried to spot Kellam. 'Though it seems that you, out of everyone here, has the ability to penetrate the unintentional shroud of invisibility that Sir Kellam puts out. Perhaps you would allow me to study you so that I could deduce the cause of such an occurrence?'

Yana was a little nonplussed at Miriel's request and so just nodded dumbly. Meanwhile, Maribelle had been attempting to regain Lissa's attention as she fussed over the princess.

'Really, allowing yourself to rise to that barbarian's provocation,' she sighed, straightening a wrinkle on Lissa's dress. 'I thought you were more refined than that, darling.'

Hearing this, Robin looked over curiously and asked, 'Hey, I've been wondering…you two aren't a couple are you? It's just that seem to act like one from what I can tell.'

This caused another silence, as the other Shepherds watched, wide eyed, as Maribelle's face went red.

'How…how dare you insinuate…Lissa…Princess Lissa is a dear and close friend of mine!' Maribelle snapped. 'Why does every low born nobody think such lecherous thoughts of Lissa and I?'

At Maribelle's description of her, it was Robin's turn to go red. Instead of responding with words however, she took a step forward and slapped Maribelle across the face with her left hand.

'I don't appreciate being called a 'nobody' you uptight shrew!' she snapped. 'Especially since, for all intents and purposes, I may as well be due to my amnesia! All I was asking is if you were in a relationship with Lissa because you seemed to make her happy and I was genuinely curious! I think YOU'RE the one who's got the lecherous mind around here!'

All throughout Robin's rant, Maribelle had been holding a hand to her slapped cheek in shock, while the rest of the Shepherds looked at the dark coated woman with awestruck expressions on their faces. They had never seen someone speak to Maribelle in such a manner before, and they were both impressed at the newcomer's courage and terrified of how Maribelle might react.

However, much to everyone's surprise, Maribelle took a deep breath before, to everyone's increased surprise, bowed to Robin.

'I…I apologise, Lady Robin,' she muttered through gritted teeth. 'I should have realised that you meant well, and that my comment may have been a tad…insensitive considering your situation.'

'Erm…I guess it's okay,' Robin mumbled, taken off-guard by Maribelle's demeanour. 'Just…er…try to remember that next time and we'll probably get along.'

Without replying, Maribelle straightened before marching out of the barracks.

'Sorry about that, Robin,' Lissa sighed as she watched her friend leave. 'She means well, but she's just never been all that good at first impressions with…non nobles. Or anyone new, for that matter.' She shrugged. 'Just give her time; I'm sure she'll warm up to you…eventually.'

'Anyway…Shepherds, we have a mission from my sister,' Chrom said as he tried to cut through the awkwardness that had descended the barracks after Maribelle's departure. 'We're to march to Regna Ferox and ask for their assistance with the Plegians and Risen threat. I'm assuming that Sully and Virion have told you about those monsters?'

'Yep, did that as soon as I got to the barracks, captain,' Sully said, nodding in confirmation.

'Excellent, that'll save me from explaining then,' Chrom said nodding gratefully at Sully. 'Now then, we'll be leaving early tomorrow so…'

He would have continued if not for the fact that another woman with light brown hair had just appeared, hurrying towards him before slipping on nothing and stumbling forwards. She would have fallen flat on her face if Chrom hadn't caught her at the last moment.

'Sumia, how many times have I told you to watch your step?' Chrom sighed exasperatedly.

'S…sorry, Chrom, I don't know what happened!' Sumia said nervously. She then shook herself and stood straight. 'Um…if it's no problem, I'd like to come with you when you leave tomorrow. I believe that I'm ready for some field experience.'

'Uh…sure…just make sure not to…' Chrom replied, somewhat awkwardly. 'Well, whatever, you're more than welcome to tag along.' He then turned to Robin. 'C'mon, I'll show you to your quarters.'

'What about me?' Yana asked, as she immediately noticed that she had been left out of the living arrangements discussion.

'Don't be silly, Yana, you'll have a room in the castle!' Lissa pointed out.

'Oh…I was rather hoping that I could get a room here, if that was alright,' Yana replied.

Chrom looked at her in both surprise and approval. 'Why do you want to do that?' he asked carefully, although he was fairly confident what her answer would be and was proven right a moment later.

'It's just…I'm a cleric first and foremost, regardless of whatever status I may have now and I've grown used to living in places like this,' his twin explained. 'I don't really think I'm cut out to live like a princess.'

'Well, if that's what you want then I guess I can do something about it…' Chrom said. 'But in exchange, you have to spend your first night in Ylisstol with your family. Deal?'

Yana considered Chrom's words before smiling. 'I guess I can live with that.'

'Alright then, I'll look into getting you a room here when we get back from Regna Ferox. Shepherds, dismissed!'

'I feel like I should have mentioned Raye,' Yana whispered to Lissa as the Shepherds dispersed.

'Do you think he'd want to live here too?' Lissa asked.

'Maybe…more likely though he'll want to get a room in an inn or something. He prefers his solitude when he has to stay anywhere for an extended time.'

'I'm sure there's somewhere in town,' Lissa said, her brows furrowed thoughtfully. 'I'll ask Chrom when he's not busy.' A sunny smile then appeared on the princess's face as she took Yana by the hand and dragged her out of the barracks. 'But forget that, I'm gonna show you around town! Come on!'

Yana laughed and allowed Lissa to lead the way, a happy smile on her face as her new younger sister began the tour of her new home.

On a secluded beach far from Ylisstol, the air above the sand suddenly became distorted as a portal appeared out of nowhere. It hung there for several moments before a figure dressed in dark blue armour dropped out of it and landed with a thud on the beach, the portal disappearing soon after.

The figure, who was clearly an adolescent girl groaned before sitting up and tossing her long white hair that had blue tinged tips out of her eyes. She looked around her and jumped up, breathing in the cool beach air and looking up at the sun that was blazing overhead.

'I…I made it!' she cried loudly, throwing her arms out and spinning on the spot. She then sobered as she remembered something. 'Wait…I don't have time to celebrate!' She looked around until she spied a staff and a pouch lying on the sand a few feet away.

The girl quickly tied the pouch on the left side of her belt while she used the staff like a walking stick as she strode purposefully down the beach, her shadow somehow casting one that appeared to have wings behind her.

' _I'll save you, mother…'_ she thought to herself determinedly. _'And I'll do it with the staff that belonged to you!'_

 _So…things have just gotten interesting, huh? Who is this mysterious new player? How will she affect the story? Who is her mother? Her father? All in due time, is all I can say._

 _In all honesty, I have no idea how this chapter will be received. Well is my hope._

 _How was Yana's backstory? Was it satisfactory? Could it have been expanded on? Any thoughts are welcomed._

 _Oh, and before I forget (since I have been for the last few chapters), I should say that I don't own Fire Emblem or anything to do with Fire Emblem (except my OC characters)_

 _Ciao for now!_


	5. Chapter 5

_Hola, coming in before you start reading that there will be some upsetting scenes coming up. You have been warned. I am also going to say that in this story the Risen will have slightly more intelligence and the leaders will be a lot tougher._

-Chapter Five- The Refugees, the Risen and the Arrival-

'So you're friend Kari lent you risqué underclothes because she thinks you need to…'get some'…?' Lissa asked, blushing slightly as she rode her horse next to Yana's.

The two sisters had spent the last day and most of the trip the next together, getting to know one another and basically getting up to mischief. Lissa was overjoyed to discover that Yana had a mischievous streak to match her own, a fact that made Chrom wish that he had been the one to show Yana around the city, if only to have stopped Lissa from finding that out.

'Yeah…being a cleric I never really had many thoughts towards that sort of thing,' Yana replied now, smiling as she thought about her friend. 'Well…at least in regards to men anyway.'

At this, Vaike, who had refused a horse stating that 'the Vaike is sturdier than any beast and has way more stamina!', walked closer to Yana, eyebrows raised. 'Did Teach hear right?' he asked, sounding a little too curious for Chrom's liking as he listened in on the conversation. 'You've been with women?'

'Uh…yeah…' the cleric replied, flinching away as Vaike looked at her intently. 'But not like that, just a few kisses every now and then.'

'Why were men a problem when women aren't?' Robin, who had also been listening to their conversation, asked.

Yana grinned. 'Because according to some, women are less liable to walk out on you after one night. Also, I was curious and made sure not to let the head cleric know. If she ever found out, she would have had cold water dumped over me, forced me to sit in the stream that ran though Rielet and recited the oaths of Naga about keeping pure all throughout.'

'You weren't a very conventional cleric, were you?' Lissa asked, giggling.

'Not really, no. I was always a wild child growing up, even when I was inducted into the sisterhood.' Yana smiled wistfully as she recalled her childhood. 'There was one time, when I was about fourteen, my parents walked in on Kari and I as she was trying to show me…certain things. Suffice it to say, Kari and I got a long lecture from my mother while my father kept telling himself that I was his little girl and that he would try and support any decision I made.'

'Were you and Kari a couple then? From the few times you've mentioned her it seems that you two were really close.'

'Yes, we'd experimented by kissing a couple of times a few months before that happened, but it was only after that that we seriously considered getting into a relationship. It wasn't a hard decision to make, since we enjoyed each other's company anyway and it just seemed natural.' Yana sighed then, a little sadly. 'Unfortunately, my duties as a cleric began to take over more of my life than I wanted and I was spending less and less time with Kari, so we broke up, a year ago in fact. We're still close, cos we couldn't imagine our lives without one another in it, and obviously Kari wants me to experience what it means to be an adult, so I'm at least still marginally happy.'

'How did Kari feel about you being sent away?' Lissa asked.

'She wasn't thrilled about it, since I was her closest friend, but she accepted the fact that I had duties higher than friendship,' Yana replied. 'I just hope that she finds somebody else instead of waiting for me to come back. I think that it will be slightly harder to return now that I know who I am and where I come from.'

'Nonsense, I'm sure that Emmeryn will let you visit Rielet if you asked,' Lissa declared. She then cocked her head as she remembered something. 'By the way, did you ever talk to Emm about Rielet's situation?'

Yana shook her head. 'No, and it's a little disappointing, but Raye said that he would fly there soon to check up on the village.' She looked up at the sky, though wasn't able to see any evidence of her draconic friend. 'I wonder where he is?'

Even as she thought this, Raye was winging his way in the direction of Rielet. He had flown all through the night and was almost at Rielet when he saw smoke rising in the distance.

' _Damn, am I already too late?'_ he growled to himself as he forced himself to fly faster.

When he reached the village, he was horrified and angered to see that the village had been attacked. There were even still some of the invaders in the village, and he immediately saw that they were Plegians.

With a roar, Raye quickly descended and landed on a group of Plegians before they could react, crushing them under his bulk. He then turned as several Plegians, having already gotten over their shock at his arrival, let out war cries and shot arrows at him.

Raye snorted and didn't even bother to avoid the arrows, his scales more protection than any armour of man. He then responded to the assault by letting out a torrent of golden fire at the group of Plegians, immolating them instantly and leaving nothing but piles of ashes where they had been standing.

As his adrenaline rose, Raye had to take a moment to collect himself as he could already feel his anger also rising.

' _Have to keep thoughts of Tiki in my head,'_ he thought to himself. He had found several centuries ago that thinking about his younger sister was one of the few things that calmed him down. _'Remember her smile when I lifted her in my arms after our mother had birthed her, her laugh when I tickled her ears…'_ He sighed in contentment at these memories.

With these thoughts now keeping his rage in check, Raye reverted to his human form and drew his sword. He made his way through the village, killing any Plegians that he found, until he came onto the ruined structure of the village's church. He had to force himself not to get even angrier at the sight of it, instead kicking down a part of the wall as the entrance had already collapsed.

What he found when he entered the church almost made him lose all control.

Inside, he found a group of three Plegians, but they were not alone. They were gathered around a female survivor, their pants down and currently in the process of sexually assaulting her. The women had clearly tried to fight them off, but had had her arms held down by two of her attackers while the third had his way with her, his hands covering her mouth as he forced himself onto her.

The woman's muffled whimpers set Raye's rage off and he let out a bestial roar and charged the group of Plegians, who froze and made to turn their heads to look in his direction. Those heads soon hit the floor as Raye swept his sword in a single horizontal arc and their bodies hit the floor a moment later. The woman, released from their grip, sagged to the floor and remained there, crying and shaking, her ruined clothes stained from the both the Plegians' attentions and blood from several wounds that covered her body.

Raye gently raised her to her feet and she flung herself onto her saviour. The manakete awkwardly patted her on the back and asked, 'Are you the only survivor?'

The woman looked up at him, tears streaming down her face, and replied, 'No, they spared a few of us, all women, and locked us in the basement of the church. They said that they were going to defile all of us before eventually sacrificing us to their Fell Dragon!'

Raye studied her and realised that the woman had been one of the clerics that had served at the church. He sifted through his memories until he recalled her name. 'Sister Verity, right? Do you know if Mother Orianna survived?'

Verity let out another sob and, instead of verbally answering, gestured in the direction of the altar. Raye slowly looked in the direction she indicated and let out a loud growl of anger.

There, impaled on a long spear that had been driven through the centre of the altar, was the naked body of an elderly woman, decapitated and with the sign of the Grimleal, the Plegian religious order, painted in blood on her bare chest. Mother Orianna's head had been unceremoniously left on the ground in front of the altar and as Raye gazed at it his anger reached bursting point. He was forced to keep an image of both his sister and his mother's faces at the forefront of his mind to avoid succumbing to it.

Forcing himself to look away, he asked Verity to accompany him as he made his way to the church's basement. Finding the door locked, he kicked it down and revealed two more women inside, who cowered away from the door before recognising who had opened it.

'Lord Raye, thank goodness!' one of them, a buxom red head whose cleric clothes were still relatively intact, breathed in relief. 'Naga be praised, we're saved!'

'Verity! Please tell me those brutes haven't…oh…' the other survivor, who Raye recognised as Yana's friend Kari, cut herself off as she saw the damage done to Verity.

'Kari, good to see that you've survived,' Raye commented. 'I only wish that I had gotten here sooner. When did the Plegians attack?'

Kari sighed and sat down on a nearby chair as the red-headed cleric moved to relieve Raye of Verity, who was practically unconscious by now. 'A few hours ago, my lord. It's almost like they had been waiting for you to leave before they attacked again.'

Raye frowned at this. 'But I only left with Yana a few days ago. How would they know about that so soon?' He shook his head. 'And they don't even know that there was a manakete here anyway, at least as far as I knew.'

'Perhaps someone told them?' Kari suggested.

The manakete's eyes narrowed. He then moved forward and put a hand to Kari's head and closed his eyes. Kari let out a noise of surprise but endured it as she felt Raye's presence in her mind.

Standing back after a few seconds, Raye nodded in satisfaction. 'Sorry about that, I just had to make sure that you weren't the one who might have told them.' He then repeated the process with Verity and the other cleric, who introduced herself as Lilah while he had his hand to her head. 'Good, none of you told the Plegians anything, I'd have hated to kill any of you otherwise.'

Raye then sighed and looked around the basement. 'Guess we'd better get out of here now.' He thought about what he should do with the three women before coming to a decision. 'I've got no choice; I'm going to have to take you with me.'

'How's Yana, by the way?' Kari asked as they exited the basement and made their way outside and avoiding looking at the sad remains of Mother Orianna.

'She's…doing well,' Raye replied evasively.

Kari, unfortunately, immediately saw that he was hiding something.

'My lord…what happened?' she asked, slightly worriedly.

Raye sighed. 'She found her birth family.' At Kari's look of surprise and the way she opened her mouth to ask what he assumed were going to be dozens of questions, he raised his hand to forestall her. 'It's not my place to say, you'll have to ask her when you see her.'

He then motioned for the women to stand back before transforming into his dragon form.

' _Come on, let's go,'_ he said, placing a wing down so that they could climb up onto his back.

'Wait, are you sure there aren't any more survivors?' Lilah asked, hesitating.

' _I swept through the entire village and checked every house,'_ Raye replied. _'I only saw corpses.'_

'Oh…' Lilah said, tears beginning to appear in her eyes. With a sigh, she joined Kari, who had needed to help Verity, on the dragon's broad back.

Making sure that his new passengers were secure, Raye jumped into the air and flew away from the sad remains of Rielet village.

The Shepherds were having a rough time.

They had travelled through the countryside in relative peace for several hours before they were suddenly ambushed by a horde of Risen that had appeared out of nowhere.

'Damn, where did these monsters come from?' Chrom growled as he cut down an axe-wielding Risen that had silently moved forward to engage him.

'Considering that they're undead, I'd say the ground,' Robin commented as she shot lightning at a nearby spearman. 'That probably means that this was a battleground sometime in the past.'

'Yeah, but what's causing them to rise up like this?' Chrom wondered as he blocked a Risen as it tried to strike at Robin, who had had her back turned as she engaged another.

'Dark magic most likely,' Miriel mused even as she back peddled from an axeman's reach. 'No other school of magic is capable of such an atrocity.'

'That would mean that there's a summoner around here, right?' the prince asked the mage as he decapitated another Risen, shoving its body away and rolling to the side to avoid a spear thrust.

'Not necessarily. The summoner could have cast a delayed spell of some sort as a trap for anyone travelling down this particular part of the Halidom.'

'Great…' Chrom muttered even as the last of the Risen near them was impaled on Frederick's spear, disappearing in a purple mist.

They took this moment to catch their breaths.

'Everyone alright?' Chrom asked, looking around.

Lissa was currently tending to Ricken, who had been hit over the head by a Risen's shield, while Yana was healing a gash on Sumia's arm that she had received when tripping over a Risen's fallen lance and landing on a nearby sword.

'How did you manage to do this?' Yana was asking Sumia incredulously.

Sumia winced as she felt her skin knit back together, an embarrassed look on her face. 'I…I don't know. One moment there wasn't a lance there, the next I tripped over it!'

Yana sighed. 'Well, at least you avoided falling on that sword face first. I don't think I would have been able to hear that.' She then chuckled and brushed a strand of hair away from Sumia's face. 'Next time, look before you step, yes?'

'I try to do that…I'm afraid nothing I do ever helps,' Sumia replied sadly.

'Hmm…maybe I can help with that,' Yana mused as she pondered Sumia's comment. 'As a cleric, it would be pretty lax of me to let a patient live like you are.' She then patted Sumia's shoulder comfortingly. 'I'll think of something and if I do I'll tell you.'

'Thanks, though I won't really expect an easy solution,' Sumia sighed, though she gave Yana a small sigh of gratitude.

As the two women continued to bond, Chrom walked over to Frederick as the knight gazed out over the field.

'See anything?' Chrom asked, squinting in the direction Frederick was looking.

'I'm not sure, milord,' Frederick replied uncertainly. 'I thought I saw a figure moving in the trees over there.' He pointed at a cluster of trees several metres down the path. 'But it disappeared as soon as looked.'

'Hmm…we should probably be careful then.'

'That would be advisable, milord,' Frederick nodded.

With that, the two men turned away and rejoined their friends. Chrom warned them of what Frederick had seen and when they began their journey again they were all on alert.

They didn't have to wait long for whatever the great knight had spied to make its move.

With a surprisingly loud shriek, another, even larger horde of Risen burst out of the undergrowth, but this horde was led by a larger, more heavily armoured Risen. This new Risen silently directed its warriors to surround the Shepherds. When its troops were in position, it then slowly pointed its sword at Chrom, as if signalling him out.

'I don't like the looks of this, milord,' Frederick growled as he stepped in front of the prince. 'That Risen is clearly a lot tougher than the ones we've been dealing with so far.'

As if it had heard him, the commanding Risen raised its sword before chopping down, signalling for the horde to attack. In a silent wave, the undead warriors swarmed towards the Shepherds, who had formed a small ring with Lissa, Yana and the two mages in the middle.

'Hold steady, Shepherds!' Chrom shouted as he tensed, waiting for the horde to hit them. 'Make sure to watch each other's backs!'

'Or sides, in this case,' Robin muttered to herself.

A moment later, the Shepherds were assaulted on all sides as the Risen tried to break their formation. Chrom and Frederick proved to be the pivotal part of the defensive line as they struck and parried while Stahl and Sully, who had dismounted, supported Vaike and Robin. Miriel and Ricken lent magical support while Lissa and Yana focussed on healing any wounds that the Shepherds suffered.

For a moment, it looked as if the Shepherds would be able to hold.

Unfortunately, after several minutes of combat, the Risen leader chose to join the melee. It smashed through Sully, flinging the female cavalier several feet away and bore Stahl to the ground. He would have been impaled right then and there if Vaike hadn't shouldered the Risen to the side, knocking it off balance and causing the sword to dig into the ground next to his head.

Stahl leapt to his feet and nodded in thanks before bringing his shield up to block an attack from the Risen leader. He grunted in surprise as his shield shattered and was forced to leap out of the way to avoid a forward thrust.

Vaike took the moment to bury his axe into the Risen's shoulder, wrenching it free a moment later and then striking at the undead's head.

'Come on, big guy, let the Vaike teach ya what it means to attack the Shepherds!' he shouted, making an obscene hand gesture towards the Risen.

The Risen didn't reply, instead choosing to suddenly backhand Vaike across the face with a gauntleted hand. This made the Shepherd stumble backwards and it would have been his turn to be impaled if Chrom hadn't leaped between them and deflected the Risen's attack.

'Dammit, I need some help here!' Chrom growled as he strained against the Risen's pressure.

Aid came in the form of Frederick smashing aside the Risen with his spear, interposing himself between his lord and the creature when it backed away momentarily. It was then forced back even further when Robin sent several lightning bolts at it in support of Frederick.

These new attacks only seemed to provoke the Risen leader's ire, and it turned its attention to Robin, who gulped and backed away as it stalked towards her. It paused when Ricken and Miriel both shot balls of fire at it and instantly switched its attention towards the two mages. Seeing this, an idea formed in Robin's head and she quickly aimed another lightning bolt at the monster, smiling grimly when it turned its attention back to her.

'Ricken, Miriel, keep attacking it!' she yelled. 'I don't think it can handle being subjected to a simultaneous, ranged attack! If we can keep up a continuous magical barrage it'll get confused and be unable to decide on who to attack first!' Chrom, Frederick and Vaike, when you see it begin to falter attack it with everything you've got! Sully, Stahl and Sumia, keep the other Risen off of Ricken and Miriel; don't worry about protecting me! Lissa, Yana, just keep back for now!'

Without waiting for the others to argue, Robin shot lightning once more at the Risen, with Ricken and Miriel following her advice and throwing fireballs at it a moment later.

It seemed that Robin had been correct in assuming that the Risen was unable to handle attacks coming from two different directions and it was soon locked in a kneeling position as the magic from the three mages forced in to stay in place. At a signal from Chrom, he, Frederick and Vaike then began a storm of close combat attacks and a moment later Vaike let out a cry of triumph as he cut the Risen's head off with one well aimed axe blow.

'YEAH, the Vaike wins this round, Chrom!' he crowed victoriously, brandishing his axe above his head as the Risen's body slumped to the ground. 'Man, the Vaike wishes that there had been two of these suckers; maybe you woulda had a chance for glory yourself!'

'Please Vaike, don't tempt fate,' Chrom sighed. He then turned to face another Risen as it attacked him and making him remember that there were other enemies to be dealt with. 'Besides, I think that I will have plenty of opportunities at glory!'

'Men!' Robin grumbled, rolling her eyes.

With the loss of their leader, the rest of the Risen forces soon lost cohesion and were swiftly put to the sword. However, a few moments after what the Shepherds had thought was the last Risen was put to the sword, a scream from Lissa made them all turn in her direction.

To Chrom's horror, Lissa and Yana were backing away as an especially large Risen ambled its way towards them. This Risen was even larger than the leader had been and was an unnerving giggling was coming from its mouth.

'How the hell did we miss that one?' he swore and dashed to put himself between his two sisters.

The Risen merely swatted him aside and Chrom flew for several feet before impacting a tree and sliding to the ground, stunned.

'CHROM!' the two women yelled out in distress.

The Risen paid no mind to their shouts, nor to the magic that Robin, Ricken and Miriel sent its way in a desperate attempt to get its attention. Frederick and Vaike moved up to attack the Risen, but it absentmindedly sent them tumbling to the ground as well.

Backing Lissa and Yana up against a tree, it loomed over them and raised a giant clawed hand in preparation of an attack. Seeing this, Yana stood in front of Lissa, her arms spread out protectively, and close her eyes, waiting for the beast to strike.

However, aid arrived in an extremely unexpected, extremely loud, form.

'OH, HELL NO, MONSTER!' a shout from nearby rang out, catching everyone's attention immediately, even the Risen, and all eyes turned to see who had spoken.

Standing a few feet from where Lissa and Yana were trapped was stood a young woman, slightly taller than Lissa, with long white hair that had blue tips, light purple eyes, and wearing a dark blue coat over slightly revealing attire that Chrom and Lissa immediately recognised as something that Plegian sorceresses had been known to wear and blue knee length boots. In the woman's right hand she was carrying a magnificent, ornate golden staff that seemed to have the image of a robed woman at its tip.

The Risen didn't have any time to react as the woman sent a ball of golden light smashing into it. It looked down dumbly at the hole that had appeared in its chest from the attack. The woman didn't let up and, raising her hand above her head, summoned a large golden knight, almost as tall as the Risen, from nowhere, surprising all those witnessing the event.

'In the name of Naga, I command you to smite this bitch!' the woman yelled, pointing her staff at the Risen.

The knight silently nodded and rushed forward, drawing a large golden longsword from its scabbard and storming forward with its shield held up in front of it. After its charge knocked the Risen off balance, the knight raised its longsword and, with a single downward, slice, chopped the Risen in two. As its two halves dropped to the floor, its remains disappeared in the same purple mist as its fellows had.

With its task complete, the knight sheathed its blade, and turned back to face the woman. Bowing, it then disappeared in a flare of golden light. When it had vanished, the woman sagged to a squatting position, her arms trembling as she used the staff to stop her from keeling over.

'Um, are you alright?' Yana asked, her arms going around Lissa as her sister hugged her in relief at having narrowly avoiding death.

'Y…yeah…' the strange woman breathed and shakily got to her feet. 'I'm still getting used to being able to do that…man, this staff is AWESOME!' She affectionately rubbed her cheek against the staff's length before remembering that she had a crowd. 'Oops, sorry…I tend to forget myself sometimes and end up doing odd things.' Her purple eyes looked at Yana. 'Hope you're alright…lady…'

Yana looked down at Lissa before replying. 'Yes, you saved us in the nick of time. Thank you…?'

'You can call me Sahria, ' the younger woman, or teenager as Yana realised after looking at her more closely, said. 'It's…a good name, don't you think?' Sahria seemed to eye Yana slightly anxiously as she spoke.

'I think it's a very pretty name, if that's what you're asking,' Yana replied, smiling gently at the teenager.

A broad grin appeared on Sahria's face and she happily tapped the end of her staff on the ground. 'Thanks, my mother gave it to me…I mean, obviously she did, but…sorry, I'm rambling, aren't I?' Sahria coughed embarrassedly and turned away. 'Anyway, glad I could help, but I should really get going.'

Before the Shepherds could react, she ran off and soon disappeared down the track.

'Well…that was odd…' Robin commented.

Sahria stopped once she saw a large bush and dived into it.

'Crap, why the hell am I such a weirdo!' she complained to herself. 'Gods, I must have come off as some kind of creeper or something!'

She poked her head out of her hiding place to make sure that the Shepherds weren't following her. When she saw that the coast was clear, she sat back and sighed.

'Well, now all I have to do is follow them,' she mumbled and a determined look entered her eyes. 'This time around, I swear that everything will be different!'

 _And…so it ends._

 _In all honesty, I really hope that I didn't introduce Sahria too early. I meant for her to show up sometime before the Shepherds reached Regna Ferox, but I'm beginning to wonder if I should have waited at least until after the arena fight with Lucina._

 _Also, if it wasn't glaringly obvious by now, yes, Sahria is Yana's future daughter. As for who her father is…well, that is something I will definitely be keeping close to my chest for the time being, but know that I've already thought about it and have settled on it._

 _As for Sahria's outfit, it's really just Tharja's 'clothes', minus the cape, with an ordinary blue coat that covers her top half. Oh, and her boots are similar to adult Tiki's boots, the only difference being that they're…blue…_

 _And now, the fun part, where I present to you Sahria's profile if she were to be an Awakening unit! And yes, she is a manakete…this may very well reveal her origins, so I apologize in advance and mentally kick myself._

 **-Sahria-**

 **Starting Class- Future Legacy (Can wield Dragonstones) Advanced Class- Inheritor (Can wield Dragonstones)**

 **Second Seal Classes- Manakete/Cleric/Mage**

 **Unique Skills-**

 **-Dragon of the Future (Personal Skill/Cannot Remove or Switch)- Grants Sahria the ability to wield Dragonstones without breaking them. She gains +5 to all stats/+2 to Mov while in her dragon form. She is also able to use her unique weapon skill while in her dragon form.**

 **-Serene Aura (Personal Skill/Cannot Remove or Switch/ Future Legacy Lvl 15)- Any allied unit within 2 squares gains +2 to all stats/+1 Mov.**

 **-Chaotic Aura (Personal Skill/Cannot Remove or Switch/ Inheritor lvl 30)- Any enemy unit within 2 squares at the start of the turn has a 30% chance to turn on their allies, a 15% chance to have their Def, Res and Mov reduced to 0, or a 5% chance to die and heal Sahria for 100% of the damage. All three of these effects have a 1% chance of activating at the same time.**

 **Unique Weapon-**

 **Serenity (staff)- Rank-** N/A **Uses-** N/A **Mt-** N/A **Hit-** N/A **Crt-** N/A **Rng-** 1/2 of users Mag stat

 **Effects- Sahria only. Heals an adjacent or distant ally for 50 pts of health. Grants Sahria the ability to summon a Golden Knight freely. The Knight's stats are equal to hers and its Mov is 7. If the Knight dies, Sahria can resummon it after one turn.**

 **Starting Stats-**

 **Lvl- 1 HP-12 Str-3 Mag-15 Skl-5 Spd-5 Lck-7 Def-8 Res-10 Mov-5**

 **Growth-**

 **HP-80% Str-10% Mag-75% Skl-50% Spd-55% Lck-55% Def-45% Res-45%**

 **Quotes-**

' _ **Your end is nigh, idiot!'**_ _When she initiates an unsupported attack._

' _ **Aw, I didn't need help!'**_ _When initiating a supported attack._

' _ **Hey, can I join in?'**_ _When supporting an ally._

' _ **No touchy the friendy, jerk!'**_ _When guarding an ally._

' _ **Oh, this is gonna be messy!'**_ _Crit quote 1._

' _ ***Giggles of increasing anticipation*'**_ _Crit quote 2._

' _ **Get smited, bitch!'**_ _Crit quote 3._

' _ **Ah…this…this totally…sucks…'**_ _Death quote 1._

' _ **S…sorry…master…'**_ _Death quote 2._

 _And with that, Ciao for now!_


	6. Chapter 6

-Chapter Six- Reunions and Mistakes-

After the mysterious Sahria had disappeared, Chrom had ordered a rest period.

'You've all definitely earned it, Shepherds,' he said, smiling tiredly as he sank down on a nearby rock. 'Let's say…two hours of rest before we move out again.'

'Make it three and I might even kiss you,' Robin sighed jokingly as she flopped down on her back and closed her eyes. She missed the brief contemplative look in Chrom's eyes at her comment before he shook his head and grunted, a slight tinge to his cheeks.

'Right…Yana, Lissa, how are the troops doing?' he instead asked the two clerics.

'Everyone came out of that pretty well off,' Lissa replied from where she was sitting next to her older sister and Sumia. 'Robin's advice really paid off against that Risen leader guy.'

'Naga, I hope we don't meet any more like that one any time soon,' Stahl remarked, shuddering as he remembered how close he'd been to dying before Vaike had saved him.

'Bah, any more of those bastards show up just leave 'em to Teach!' Vaike scoffed, swishing his axe around to emphasise his point. 'The Vaike will show those undeaders the meaning of the words 'stay dead'!'

Nobody bothered to reply to his declaration, instead choosing to go to sleep on the part of Lissa and Ricken, while the others merely enjoyed the respite from the hectic combat they had been a part of. Chrom and Frederick, however, discussed Sahria.

'Any idea who she could be?' Chrom asked the great knight as he stretched his arms.

'No, but from her clothes I would hazard a guess that she's Plegian,' Frederick replied, a look of suspicion on his face as he glanced in Robin's direction. The tactician didn't notice, having fallen asleep a few seconds ago. 'And Robin's coat is Plegian as well…most suspicious, wouldn't you say milord?'

'Are you still hung up on the idea that Robin might be a spy, Frederick?' Chrom sighed. 'How many times do I have to tell you; I trust Robin, maybe even with my life already. She's more than proven herself to be a capable and thoughtful individual and her quick thinking in the fight that JUST happened probably saved my life and the lives of the other Shepherds.' He looked sternly at his companion. 'Don't you think that it's time that you get those thoughts out of your head and give her a chance?'

Frederick shifted uncomfortably before replying, 'If milord trusts her…then I suppose I can make a small effort to treat her in a similar manner…but that's all I'm promising for now. The moment Robin shows any signs of betraying us, then I will cut her down without hesitation.'

'Baby steps, I suppose,' Chrom sighed, shaking his head.

Lissa, who had been listening in on their conversation, chose that moment to call over in a mischievous, 'It also doesn't hurt that she's very beautiful, huh Chrom?' Yana had to stifle a laugh at Lissa's words.

Their brother, on the other hand, went very red in the face as he stammered, 'That's…that's not the point, Lissa! Robin would have a place in the Shepherds even if she was the ugliest girl in the world! I don't want her for her looks, just her mind!'

'Did the Vaike just hear you just say that you 'want' her?' Vaike chortled, and both he and Sully snickered for a few moments at their captain's discomfort.

'Now you're just taking my words out of context!' Chrom whined.

'Oh, don't tease him anymore, Lissa, Vaike,' Yana admonished them gently. 'How our leader truly feels about our lovely tactician is for him to decide, not us.'

'Thank you!' her brother said. 'At least someone's on my side!'

'Besides, he hardly needs us to point out Robin's merits!' Yana grinned, immediately crushing Chrom's spirits. 'I'm fairly certain he's seen them quite a bit, what with the amount of time I've seen him stare at her.' She raised a mock stern finger. 'For shame, Chrom! You should at least get to know her more before you start lusting after her!'

At this, Lissa rolled around on the ground laughing loudly while Vaike and Sully slapped each other on the backs and laughed along with the two princesses.

'Naga save me from sisters and idiots!' Chrom grumbled as he turned away from them. 'Not that I can see any real difference between the two right now!'

'Oh, I'm sorry Chrom!' Yana said soothingly, going over to her brother and wrapping her arms around him from behind. 'In all seriousness though, your heart is yours to give, whomever it is that ends up capturing it. I just hope that you make the right choice.'

'Yeah, well…can we please stop talking about it?' Chrom grunted, though he smiled to himself slightly.

'Whatever you say, brother,' Yana chuckled.

As she rejoined Lissa, they all looked up when a large dark shadow was cast over them. Her eyes lit up when she immediately recognised that it was Raye in his dragon form who was the source. He landed a few feet away from them and shook his great head before lowering a wing. Those gathered quickly saw the three women who had been on his back and Yana frowned when she realised who they were, especially one in particular.

'Kari…?' she muttered and walked quickly over to where the three women were sliding down Raye's wing. 'What are you doing here? And what's wrong with Verity?' She'd also recognised the two clerics, since she had interacted with all of the sisters of Rielet's church several times.

Looking around at the sound of Yana's voice, Kari let out a cry of relief and ran towards her. When she'd reached her friend, to the surprise of the Shepherds she planted a long, passionate kiss on the cleric.

'Yana, thank Naga!' Kari breathed in relief once she'd pulled away.

'Wh…why did you do that, Kari?' Yana stuttered, going red in the face and glancing back at the Shepherds. Vaike had a dumbstruck look on his face, while Lissa had a huge smile on her face. 'We're not a couple anymore, remember?'

'Yeah, but we always greeted each other like that, even before we got together,' her friend laughed. She then smiled slyly. 'Besides, it didn't seem like you disliked it.'

'That…that's beside the point!' Yana cried. Taking a breath, she looked at Kari and the two clerics. 'Anyway, why are you here? Has something happened to Rielet?'

At this, Kari bit her lip and exchanged glances with Verity and Lilah. However, it was Raye that answered Yana's question.

' _Rielet's gone, Yana,'_ he said bluntly. _'The Plegians attacked it a few hours ago and burned it to the ground.'_ He let out a large, rumbling sigh. _'Everybody's dead…even Mother Orianna.'_

'No…' Yana whispered, dropping to her knees in shock and feeling tears begin to form. 'It can't be…'

Kari and the two clerics quickly moved forward to comfort their friend as she let the tears flow.

'Hey now, it isn't your fault,' Lilah said comfortingly. 'No one would have expected the attack to come.'

'Yeah, it was really all just bad timing!' Kari put in, embracing Yana tightly.

'But…but if I had been there…' Yana sobbed, her hands covering her face in shame. 'I might…have been able…to protect everyone!'

' _Do not say that, Yana,'_ Raye rumbled, crawling over so that he could gently nudge Yana's head with his jaw. _'By that logic, the blame falls squarely on me. If I hadn't decided to escort you to Ylisstol, the Plegians would never have been able to harm the village.'_ He let out a sad grunt. _'Some guardian dragon I turned out to be, huh? You'd think I should've expected something like that, especially if Kari had been right in her theory that someone told the Plegians about me and my absence.'_

At this, Yana's head shot up and she started up at Raye. 'What…what do you mean?'

Kari shot an annoyed look at Raye and replied, 'I just thought that it was terribly convenient that the Plegians decided to attack so soon after the two of you left. The only way they would have known to strike at that time is if someone told them about Lord Raye.'

'But surely no one would ever betray him!' Yana cried. 'He's been the protector of Rielet ever since its founding! For Naga's sake, the village was MADE by him and he allowed humans to live there!'

' _It takes only one root of dissatisfaction to breed dark thoughts,'_ Raye pointed out. _'Perhaps someone became resentful to the fact that, in their eyes, they were lorded over an old, foolish dragon like myself?'_

'Hmph, if that's the case then I hoped they survived!' Kari growled. 'Only so that I can kill them after! Everyone knows that we only survived all those years near the border because of you, my Lord. Even if you can be a bit of an idiot sometimes.'

Raye rolled his great golden eyes. _'In any case, only these three were alive when I arrived. I'm sorry…I failed them and you...'_ The dragon dipped his head in apology to the four remaining members of Rielet in front of him.

'Do not say such things, my Lord,' Lilah said gently. 'We do not blame you for the tragic fate of our village. 'Twas the Plegians, after all, that murdered our friends and family, not you.'

The dragon grunted, though they could tell that he was grateful for her words. He then shook himself before the inferno that signified his transformations engulfed him and he returned to his human form.

Chrom and the others chose that moment to cautiously approach the group, having hung back due their wariness of Raye, especially those that had been there during Yana's first confrontation with her siblings.

'Uh…are you alright, Yana?' Chrom asked, hesitantly approaching Yana and putting a hand on her shoulder.

'Chrom…my village…it's been destroyed by the Plegians,' Yana replied sadly, putting a hand on Chrom's as she looked up at him. Seeing the contact, Kari narrowed her eyes but didn't comment.

'Oh, no!' Lissa gasped and quickly hugged Yana. 'And you came all the way here to get help for it, too! I'm so sorry, Yana!'

'You have nothing to be sorry about, Lissa,' her sister pointed out. 'It's hardly your fault that it happened.'

'Still…' Lissa mumbled, causing Raye to sigh.

'I forgot how humans can be so self-sacrificing, even when they aren't there,' he grunted. 'Princess Lissa, there's no point in burdening yourself by taking responsibility for the attack.'

'I can still be upset about it, can't I?' the young princess snapped.

'I never said that you couldn't, only that the responsibility of feeling guilty is mine and mine alone. Rielet was under my protection and I failed it, simple as that.'

'Oh…well…sorry I snapped at you, then,' Lissa replied awkwardly.

'Don't be. Guilt is something that I both deserve and should feel,' Raye said. 'It helps keep me sane.'

'The Plegians have gone too far this time, though,' Kari cut in angrily. 'Regardless of who's at fault, the fact that they attacked a village of a country they're SUPPOSED to be at peace with has got to be a sign that they want war!'

'Let's not be hasty in that assumption, lady, 'Chrom hurriedly replied. 'For all we know it could have been a rogue faction of Plegians that attacked your village.'

'And who are you supposed to be?' Kari asked angrily, rounding on Chrom.

A flicker of annoyance entered Chrom's eyes as he introduced himself. 'I happen to be Chrom, the Prince of Ylisse. The blonde girl hugging Yana is also my sister, Princess Lissa of Ylisse.'

'Oh…well…I'm still angry at you!' Kari declared, though her face had gone red with embarrassment as she realised who she had been so curt with.

'What, why?'

'Because I think I've earned the right to a bit of anger lately!' Kari replied loudly.

'Please don't yell at my brother,' Yana sighed tiredly without thinking.

At this, Kari, Verity and Lilah stared at her, and Raye winced, looking away as a silence descended the group.

'WHAT!?' Kari's voice rang through the air a few moments later.

'Wow…never would have taken you to be royalty,' Kari mused some time later after Yana had explained what she had discovered when she had met Chrom and Lissa. 'You've never been…how should I put it…' She clicked her fingers. 'You've never been stuck up! Also you weren't really that refined when we were growing up either.'

'Gee, thanks!' Yana said sarcastically as Chrom and Lissa frowned.

'What do you mean by 'stuck up'?' Chrom asked.

Kari hurriedly made to explain her words. 'I didn't mean to say that I think that the royal family themselves were stuck up, I simply meant that I've never really thought much of the nobility in general!'

'Never introduce her to Maribelle,' Robin whispered to Lissa, who stifled a giggle at the tactician's words. Luckily, Lissa's blonde friend had decided to stay behind in Ylisstol, otherwise there would most likely have been a sudden catfight on the Shepherds' hands.

'Hmm…I guess I can understand that,' Chrom agreed reluctantly. 'I will confess a slight dislike towards certain nobles I've met over the years.' He then realised that both Verity and Lilah were on their knees and praying in his direction. 'Er…what are you two doing?'

'I'm sorry, my Lord, it's just that you are of the Exalted bloodline,' Verity answered nervously, not raising her head. 'We of the sisterhood are, of course, taught that the Exalted are to be…erm…exalted…'

'What she means is that you, Princess Lissa and Exalt Emmeryn deserve our utmost respect, my Lord,' Lilah helpfully put in. She then added, 'And I suppose Sister Yana…I mean PRINCESS Yana…should be added to our prayers as well.'

'Oh no, please don't do that!' Yana cried, embarrassed. 'I trained with you two, it would be awkward if you treated me like we were taught to treat them.' She pointed at Chrom and Lissa.

'But…you are part of their bloodline,' Lilah pointed out. 'And as such deserving of our praise and adoration.'

As Yana gaped at her fellow cleric, Raye sighed. 'Don't you think you've teased her enough, Lilah?'

Lilah giggled and looked up, a mock frown on her face. 'Lord Raye, I have no idea what you're talking about! I was merely paying my respects to a dear friend of mine.

'More like making me worry that I was going to LOSE a dear friend of mine,' Yana muttered as she realised that Lilah had been pulling her leg.

As the two friends laughed with each other, Chrom approached Raye, who had stepped away from the group.

'Er…thank you for rescuing them, I guess,' he said, holding out a hand to the manakete.

Raye raised an eyebrow, looking at the prince's hand for a moment before shaking it. 'Just doing my duty as a citizen of Ylisse, though I wish that I had been a little faster about it.'

'At least you managed to save someone, let alone three,' Chrom pointed out.

'Yeah, though I agree with Kari; this atrocity is tantamount to a declaration of war from the Plegians.' Raye held up a hand to forestall Chrom's next words. 'BUT I do also agree with you that this may have been done by a rogue faction that wants a war with Ylisse.' He growled lowly then. 'Knowing their king, however…we should all be cautious from now on in any case.'

Chrom nodded. The current king of Plegia was a man by the name of Gangrel, who had earned the title of 'the Mad King' after several attempts at provoking war with Ylisse over the years and his mistreatment of his citizens as a whole. Whenever he thought about the other country's sovereign, Chrom always gained a tense feeling throughout his body.

As if seeing this, Raye then said, 'But if war is the only possible outcome, then you can at least rest easier knowing that you will have a dragon by your side.' A predatory grin appeared briefly on the manakete's face before just as quickly disappearing. 'It's been far too long since I've had a good fight, and I owe them now for what they've done.'

'Well, so long as you don't burn down Ylisse at the same time,' Chrom joked nervously.

'The only thing you should worry about in my case is if my family hears about my existence,' Raye muttered, immediately sparking Chrom's curiosity.

'What do you mean?

'Nothing…forget I said anything,' the manakete grunted, turning away and making it clear that their conversation was over.

Slightly suspicious now, Chrom nevertheless nodded, thanked Raye one more time, and returned to the others. He made a mental note to ask if Yana knew what her friend might have meant with his comment.

When the prince rejoined the rest of the Shepherds, he found Yana reminiscing with her friends from Rielet, Lissa listening with a smile on her face. Deciding to leave his newest sister to her own devices, he instead walked over to Sully, Stahl and Robin, who were huddled in a small group and having a hushed discussion. As he approached, Robin cleared her throat and the three straightened and turned in his direction.

'Er…what?' Chrom asked, seeing the looks in their eyes.

'We were just wonderin' what you were planning to do with that lot?' Sully said, pointing at Kari and the two Rielet clerics. 'You realise that they can't come with us right, captain?'

'I know, but I have been a little distracted,' the prince pointed out. 'But I take it that you guys have words on that situation?'

'Yeah, send 'em back to Ylisstol,' Sully said, Robin and Stahl nodding in agreement. 'Kinda obvious, dontcha think?'

'I suppose…but I cannot in good conscience send them back unescorted, especially with what's just happened,' Chrom replied. 'Who knows if there are any more Risen out there.'

'Then send one or two of us back with them,' Stahl spoke up.

'Like who?' We kind of need everyone we have to safely make it to Regna Ferox.'

'Not exactly…I mean, Yana's dragon friend _did_ just arrive,' Robin commented. 'If we kept him with us, or if he flew them back himself and then returned, I'm sure we'd still be safe enough.'

Chrom thought about the tactician's words. 'Who would we send back if Raye decides to stay?' he asked eventually.

'Well…'

'I'll do it!' They all turned around to see Ricken, who had been listening in on their conversation, approach them with an eager look. 'Let's face it, you guys won't need me just for a diplomatic mission, right?' Seeing the uncomfortable looks that passed between the other four Shepherds, Ricken pressed on. 'Exactly! This way, I can prove myself and maybe be considered for more dangerous missions in the future!'

'Er, not to sound like I'm insultin' ya kid, but what makes you think takin' those three ladies back to Ylisstol will prove yourself ready for that sorta stuff?' Sully asked, slightly confused.

'Well, they _are_ Princess Yana's close friends, aren't they?' Ricken replied. 'And they're refuges of a Plegian attack as well, meaning that Exalt Emmeryn might want to speak to them, making them pretty important.' He went red as Chrom and the others regarded him thoughtfully. 'I mean…I guess…'

Chrom sighed. 'You're not wrong, I suppose.' He thought about the situation before nodding his head. 'I see no problem with your plan, but I want you to know that there's no need for you to prove yourself, Ricken. You're a Shepherd, meaning that your already more qualified than your average soldier.'

'Yeah, well…I still want to do this!' Ricken replied determinedly.

'Very well. When Kari and the two clerics feel like they're ready, I'll inform them that you will be escorting them back to Ylisstol. ' Chrom then looked keenly around at the other Shepherds. 'But…you'll be taking Stahl with you.'

'Wait, what?' Stahl said, surprised. 'Why me?'

'Because as worthy as Ricken is, I still don't feel comfortable sending three defenceless women into a countryside only recently filled with undead monstrosities with only one combat ready individual to guard them,' Chrom replied. 'I'd send Lissa or Yana with you, but considering that I doubt that Lissa wants to be separated from Yana right now and that we'll need at least one healer with us, not much I can do.'

'You're the boss, boss,' Stahl sighed, looking slightly unhappy about Chrom's decision but accepting it nonetheless.

'Right, let's go tell them the plan,' Chrom said.

With that, the five Shepherds approached Yana and the Rielet refugees. Noticing their arrival, Yana looked over and smiled.

'We heading out now, Chrom?' she asked, her waist still firmly being clung to by Lissa.

Seeing this, Chrom chuckled. 'Don't you think you should give Yana some space now, Lis?'

'Nope!' the young princess replied cheerfully. 'I promised to make up for all those missed years of sisterly love and I meant it!'

'Let her be, Chrom,' Yana said serenely. 'I don't mind, and I'll admit that the feeling is quite pleasant.'

'Alright, alright, far be it from me to interrupt such an adorable moment anyway,' Chrom said, putting his hands up in mock surrender. He then cleared his throat and looked at the Rielet refugees. 'Ladies, I'm sorry to say this but I've made arrangements for you to return to Ylisstol, with an escort of course.' The prince then looked quizzically at Raye, who had wondered over. 'Unless you want to fly them back?'

Even before Chrom had finished speaking, Raye was already shaking his head. 'As much as I'd like to, I made a vow to look after Yana for the time being. Old I may be, but I take my vows very seriously.' The manakete looked apologetically at the three refugees. 'Sorry, girls.'

'We understand, Lord Raye, 'Lilah said, bowing her head to the manakete. 'Besides, I for one do not wish to risk throwing up again. Worthy as you are, I'm not as used to riding on dragon back as Yana is.' She blushed as she remembered how she had vomited during Raye's flight back to the Shepherds.

'Yeah, gotta agree with Lilah,' Kari commented. 'Seriously, Yana, how can you stand doing that, especially more than once?'

'Trust me, it took me a few flights to get used to it,' Yana admitted.

'I'll say,' Raye grumbled. 'You sure regretted pestering me to let you ride on my back when you were only twelve.' He grunted. 'Still can't believe all of that vomit came out of such a small kid. Took me hours of bathing to get it out of my scales.'

'Raye! You didn't have to tell them that!' Yana cried, looking mortified.

The manakete shrugged. 'You're fault for doing it in the first place. I'll have you know, I reserved the right to regale people of that moment as soon as it occurred.' He grinned suddenly. 'And I'll be damned if I don't mention it as many times as I can!'

At the laughs that rang through the air at Raye's words, Yana sat down, face bright red, and put her head in her hands.

Lissa patted her sympathetically on the back. 'At least you eventually got used to it, right?' As Yana sighed into her hands, the blonde girl then looked quizzically up at Raye. 'By the way…it seems that you and my sister are pretty close; are you in love with her?'

At this, Yana's head shot up and she stared incredulously at her sister. Raye, on the other hand, let out a loud shout of laughter before bending over and ruffling Lissa's hair affectionately.

'No, I can safely say that neither of us has feelings for the other, at least not in that sense,' he said, smiling. 'Besides, I'm far too old for feelings like that.'

'Nobody's too old for love, silly!'

'Raye smiled. 'Tell you what; the moment I find someone I end up loving romantically, you'll be the first to know. If you're still alive that is.'

'How old are you anyway?' Chrom asked, a look of interest in his eyes.

'I stopped counting at ten thousand,' Raye commented, making Chrom and the others stare at him in surprise. He raised an eyebrow at them. 'What?'

'Forgive me…I just wasn't expecting that…' Chrom replied.

'And why not? I mean, I know I look fabulous in my old age, but don't tell me that you thought I was actually a _young_ dragon?'

'It's just…surely a dragon as old as you would be in the history books?' Chrom asked. 'I mean, every divine dragon and their exploits have been recorded through the ages, and if you're as old as you say then you would definitely have been around during the time of legends, when dragons were still worsipped.' An excited look crossed the prince's face then. 'Hey, I don't suppose you met the Hero-King Marth, did you?'

Realising that he had made a mistake, Raye tried to brush it off by replying to Chrom's second question first with a portion of the truth. 'Er, no...I didn't, sorry. I mostly kept myself to myself once I became a manakete.'

'Why?'

'Because I couldn't stand the other dragons, but neither did I want to go crazy like the dragons that refused to become manaketes,' Raye replied, putting a tone of annoyance in his voice now. 'Besides, being worshipped by humans was such a hassle, so I split myself from the rest of the tribe after a while.'

'Oh…well, don't worry; I don't plan on worshipping you any time soon,' Chrom joked, which dragged a reluctant chuckle from the manakete.

'Good…I'd hate to have to roast you,' Raye snorted.

After a few seconds of laughter, the Shepherds then prepared to move out. As the others gathered their things, Yana walked with Kari, the two Rielet clerics and Stahl and Ricken.

'I'll miss you guys, but I'm glad that you're still alive,' Yana said, hugging the three women before they pulled themselves up into the saddles of the three horses that Chrom had leant them. The mounts had been spares so they wouldn't really be missed.

'Hey, don't worry!' Kari replied confidently. 'If anything, you should worry about any noble I come across!' She considered her words before adding, 'But don't worry; I'll try not to be too judgemental towards your EXALTED sister…your highness…' A giggle escaped the woman's lips as her friend rolled her eyes.

'Please, I already got enough teasing from Lilah,' the princess said.

'I know, but I couldn't resist!'

Shaking her head, Yana looked at Stahl and Ricken. 'Look after them, please? They're all I have left of Rielet and I'd rather they stayed that way.'

'Don't worry, Yana, we'll get them to Ylisstol safely,' Stahl replied, Ricken nodding enthusiastically beside him.

With a grateful smile, Yana stepped back as the small group began their journey back to the capitol. Kari looked over her shoulder once and sent a wink back at Yana before turning back and urging her horse to walk besides Stahl's.

Shaking her head, Yana turned back as her brother called out to her, asking if she was ready. 'Yes, Chrom, I'll be right there!' she replied and hurried back to the rest of the remaining Shepherds.

As they finally resumed their journey towards Regna Ferox, none of them noticed purple eyes that watched their progress from a nearby bush.

 _Okay, that ends Chapter Six_

 _Hopefully you were satisfied with it; after all I aim to entertain. It's a shame what happened to Yana's village, but at least Raye managed to rescue her closet friend and two others._

 _Speaking of the three refugees, I don't know whether or not to have them show up more frequently or nor. Kari, at least, I plan to have featured more than the two clerics, since she has a closer bond with Yana. I might even expand more on their backgrounds should the need arise._

 _The next chapter coming up is going to focus more on Sahria. Her motives, I'll have you know, are slightly different from Lucina's. And also, the fact that she is a manakete is not indicative of who her father is. Who her father is may surprise you, but knowing me I'll probably accidentally spill it in the next chapter, so I apologise for that in advance if that happens._

 _In other news, I'd like to say that I plan to write a companion piece to Twin Destines that focusses on the OCs' lives before, during and after the story's events. It will cover Yana's extraction from Ylisstol, Dewynn's personal experiences, Raye's life over the years and his and Yana's theoretical support conversations with certain characters, so look forward to that._

 _Okay, that's all!_

 _Ciao for now!_


	7. Chapter 7

-Chapter Seven- Mistakes and Arena Matches-

' _Master…why does father hit mother?' I asked tearfully, as I tried not to listen to what was happening in the next room over._

 _My master put an arm around me, the chains that restricted his movements clanking at the motion. 'I…I can't tell you that, Little Dragon,' he said, a sad look on his face._

' _Does…does he not love her anymore?'_

' _I doubt that he ever did, Little Dragon,' my master replied. He then tried to smile and change the subject. 'Now, how about we continue your lessons? Your father will punish us both if I don't teach you how to use your powers properly.'_

' _O…okay…'_

 _Minutes passed in silence as I went through the exercises that my father had set. Eventually, I looked into the blind eyes of my master and asked the question that I always had ever since I'd been introduced to him._

' _Master…will you tell me your name now?'_

' _No, Little Dragon…my name is not worthy to be known by you, ' my master replied sadly, his dirty, grey hair falling across his eyes as he looked down in my general direction. 'I am but an old fool, who thought himself capable of protecting the world and is now but a shard of his former self.'_

 _I hadn't expected anything other than the usual answer he gave me every time I asked that question. I cried silently as I brushed the strands of the old man's hair away from his eyes._

' _You're not a fool, master,' I said softly. 'Whoever you are, I'm sure that you don't deserve this…'_

 _My master smiled and opened his mouth to reply, but we both winced when we heard a guttural roar come from my father while a forlorn scream came from my mother._

' _N…no more, my lord!' I heard her sob a few seconds later even as I knew she was having her chains reattached to the wall. 'P…please…I cannot take any more…of this…!'_

' _Silence, whore!' a third voice commanded, followed by the sounds of a brutal slap accompanied by a pained cry from my mother. 'You do not address your Lord without his permission!'_

 _The loud thud of a door closing let me know that my father had left my mother. Panicking as I also realised that he would be coming to check on my progress, I hurriedly fumbled with my dragonstone as I concentrated on it._

 _Cringing, I heard the door open behind me and I immediately turned around, falling to my knees in supplication. I could feel his eyes studying me for several minutes, but I didn't dare to raise my head._

' _Sahria…' I heard my father eventually say in his soft, treacherously kind voice. 'Show me what you've learned.'_

' _Y…yes, father,' I whimpered and slowly raised my head to look my father in the eyes._

()()()()()()()()

With a soft yell, Sahria sat bolt upright from where she had been sleeping. Unfortunately, since she was sleeping in the branches of a tree, the sudden movement caused her to drop to the ground several feet below.

'Ow…that hurt!' she muttered under her breath, glaring up at the branches above her. 'That was really rude, y'know!'

Naturally, the tree didn't answer her, so she sighed and stood up, brushing herself down to rid herself of the leaves that had stuck into her long white hair and her clothes. Once she was leaf free, the teenager decided that she would check up on her current targets: the Shepherds. Or more specifically, one Shepherd in particular.

'She's…really beautiful,' Sahria murmured to herself for the hundredth time once she found the Shepherd in question. 'And she looks…happy…' She then let her gaze wonder over the rest of the Shepherds until she settled on the green haired man and once again wondered as to his identity. 'Good to see that there's still a good manakete in this time in any case.'

Stealthily making her way through the trees, she kept pace with the Shepherds as they made their way down the dirt road. She had been following them in this manner for the past two days, always keeping them in sight but keeping herself out of theirs. The teenager was becoming slightly restless at the now relatively quiet journey, but she knew that if she truly wanted to change the future she would have to continue along with them. She had appreciated the small moment of excitement when the clumsy female Shepherd had managed to calm down a wild, injured pegasus, but now both the woman and the winged horse had been left behind while the rest of the Shepherds continued on their way.

A few hours later, Sahria let out a sigh of relief when she and the Shepherds finally stopped in front of one of the largest walls that she had ever seen. Looking up and shivering in the now cold she studied the great expanse of stone that towered above her.

'Why in Naga's name does someone need a wall _this_ big?' she muttered to herself. 'Compensating much?'

She then realised that the blue haired man that was leading the Shepherds was now shouting up to a group of knights that were peering down at them from the top of the wall.

'Greetings, guard of the Longfort!' he was saying. 'I am Prince Chrom of Ylisse and I wish to pass through your gates!'

A woman clad in armour that Sahria thought was much too big for her soon replied down, in a scornful tone, 'You brigands are sure getting creative in your attempts to take the Longfort!' she snarled. 'Don't you know that it is a capital offence to impersonate royalty? Be off of with you!'

The great knight that stood next to the prince decided to indignantly speak up. 'Brigand? I assure you, my lady, that milord truly is the Prince Chrom of Ylisse!'

'Sure, and I'm the Queen of Valm!'

'Well, as one royal to another, perhaps you could open the gate?' Chrom tried to joke. 'I have urgent business in Regna Ferox and with your Khans!'

'Bah, a brigand like you is not worthy to speak to any Feroxi, let alone the Khans!' the lady knight spat. 'You have ten seconds to retreat or I'll have my boys introduce you to their javelins!' To reinforce her words, the (many) Feroxi knights on the wall pointed their javelins down at the Shepherds.

'Oh boy, this isn't going to go well,' Sahria sighed to herself as she observed the events. Putting a hand to her face, she muttered, 'Guess I got no choice; can't very well let them kill any of the Shepherds.'

Just as she was about to summon her knight, the commander of the Longfort guard shouted for her knights to let loose and a swarm of javelins flew down towards the Shepherds, and in particular towards Chrom.

'Dammit!' Sahria growled as her knight appeared in a flash of golden light, assuming that she had reacted too late to save the prince.

Fortunately, she needn't have worried for just before the javelins struck home a pegasus swooped down from the sky and its rider managed to grab Chrom and haul the prince onto the saddle behind her.

'Huh…that was pretty cool…'

()()()()()()()()()

In the air, Chrom slowly opened his eyes to see the familiar light brown hair of Sumia in front of him.

'Sumia?' he said in surprise. 'I thought that the pegasus wasn't able to fly?'

'Oh no, captain, the arrow wound wasn't that serious,' Sumia replied, smiling over her shoulder at the prince. 'I patched it up and she was right as rain soon after so I decided to fly her here as fast as I could. We seem to have already made quite the connection.' She affectionately patted her mount's neck as she spoke.

'That's good to hear, but we should probably rejoin the others,' Chrom replied.

'Yes, sir!'

()()()()()()()()()

Once they had joined the Shepherds where they had under the cover of the trees, he had a quick discussion with them on their next move.

'Robin, what do you think?' he asked, looking at the tactician.

'Well, it would be too dangerous to have Sumia fly up there alone, and we certainly can't scale the walls…' Robin mused. She then glanced up at the Feroxi on the walls. 'What can you tell me about these people, Chrom? The Feroxi as a whole, I mean, not just those guards.'

'The Feroxi enjoy combat and from what I know they hold regular tournaments to test each other's strength,' Chrom replied. 'Apart from that, I know very little about them. I'm afraid that I always left that sort of stuff to Emmeryn.'

Robin tapped her chin thoughtfully before saying, 'In that case, perhaps a show of strength of our own will get them to believe that you are who you say you are.'

Chrom sighed. 'At this point, we have little choice. We NEED to get to Regna Ferox as soon as we can, and the only way to get there is through those gates.' He jabbed a finger at the gates set into the walls of the Longfort. 'The only problem is all of those guards. They could impale us all with those javelins before we even made it to the walls.'

At this, Raye let out an impatient snort and they all turned to look at him. 'What, did you forget that I'm a DRAGON?' he sighed sarcastically.

'No, but I'd rather not destroy their wall or inflict needless casualties, no offence,' Chrom said as politely as he could.

Despite this, an insulted look entered the manakete's eyes. 'I am perfectly capable of incapacitating them without either killing them or taking down their precious wall!' he growled, his hand moving to the pouch he kept his dragonstone in that was tied to his belt.

Yana decided to intervene before Raye let his temper get the best of him. 'Even so, I'm not sure that they'll appreciate a huge dragon flying around near their borders. You see that, right?'

The manakete took a moment to consider her words before sighing in frustration. 'Fine, but don't come complaining to me if you all get killed!'

'Hard way it is then,' Chrom declared, seeing that Yana had convinced Raye from doing something foolish.

'Before we do, I think it'd be a good idea for us to split into pairs,' Robin said. 'Got the idea from seeing you and Sumia.'

'Good idea, Robin,' the prince replied in appreciation. 'So, who pairs with who?'

Robin looked keenly at the Shepherds before making her choices. 'Vaike, you go with Miriel; her magic will compensate for your lack of it.' The barbarian and mage nodded and stood next to each other. 'Lissa, you ride with Sully; the extra mobility will mean that you'll be able to reach the injured faster.' The female cavalier saluted and hauled Lissa up onto her saddle. 'Virion and Sumia, you provide air support; let's see how they like arrows flying at them from that angle!' Virion chuckled and bowed in Sumia's direction before joining her in the pegasus's saddle. 'As for Yana…'

'I can pair up with Kellam if you want?' the cleric said, moving to stand next to the knight. 'I'm sure he'll have my back.'

At her words, the rest of the Shepherds all started and squinted.

'Holy…didn't even notice ya there Kellam!' Sully exclaimed. 'Sorry, buddy!'

'It's fine…' the knight sighed, though only Yana heard him.

'Right…well, that leaves me, Frederick, Chrom and Raye,' Robin continued. She looked at the manakete, who grunted.

'If it's all the same to you, I think I'll stick by Yana for the time being,' he said. 'As skilled as I'm sure he is, Kellam will need all the help he can get to keep this one safe.' He pointed at Yana, who stuck her tongue out at him. He chuckled before holding out his hand to Kellam. 'Looking forward to working beside you.'

As the knight and the manakete shook hands, Robin turned to look at Chrom and Frederick. 'I suppose we three could team up?' she suggested. 'Don't suppose that horse of yours can carry three people, Frederick?'

Frederick shook his head, much to the tactician's disappointment. 'I'm afraid not.'

Chrom then took that moment to speak up. 'If it's okay with you, I can fight alongside Robin on the ground while you, Frederick, deal with anyone that gets past us.'

The great knight seemed to struggle internally before sighing and nodding. 'As you wish, milord.'

With their pairs, and trio, decided, the Shepherds charged from out of the trees and made their way towards one of the two smaller, side gates that led up onto the wall. During their charge, they ducked and weaved their way through the hail of javelins the Longfort's defenders sent their way, only stopping when they reached the cover of the wall.

'Move aside!' Raye grunted and, standing in front of the door, smashed it off its hinges with one powerful kick. 'Okay, we're good to go!'

They rushed through and were immediately set upon by a group of knights waiting on the other side that, though surprised by the door suddenly smashing into two of their number and incapacitating them, still brought their shields up and moved forwards to engage the invaders.

'Chrom, if we can take down their captain this can all end without too much injury to both sides!' Robin shouted.

The prince nodded and, with cover from the other Shepherds, he and the tactician fought their way through the pack of defenders and rushed towards the lady knight, who was standing nearby and directing reinforcements.

Noticing their charge towards her, the knight readied her shield and spear and bellowed, 'I am Captain Raimi, commander of the Longfort of the Feroxi, and you will go no further!' With that, she engaged the two Shepherds, motioning to those Feroxi that moved up to support her to back off.

It quickly became apparent to both Chrom and Robin why Raimi had been chosen to command the Longfort; the lady knight's armour was exceptionally tough, while the woman herself was surprisingly agile despite it. Even worse, Robin's magic didn't seem to be having much effect; the lightning that she sent her way fizzled out a few inches from the knight.

'Oh, come on!' the tactician complained.

At her frustration, Raimi shot her a smug look. 'Sucks for you, brigand scum! I have a talisman that stops magic from reaching me! A personal gift from the Khans themselves!'

'Good for you!' Robin growled.

Switching to her sword, she and Chrom rained blows in Raimi's direction. Unfortunately, any hits they landed bounced harmlessly off her armour or were avoided entirely. Even when they tried attacking the Longfort commander from two sides they were unable to do more than scratch her armour.

After a few minutes of the protracted combat, Raimi suddenly swept Chrom's feet out from under him and smashed Robin aside with her shield. As the tactician fell to the ground stunned, the knight loomed over Chrom's prone form.

'Captain!' Sumia yelled as she saw what was about to happen. She and Virion tried to assist the prince but were forced back as a group of archers that Raimi had called up appeared and immediately aimed their bows up at them. 'Oh, no…!'

The archers let loose and Sumia desperately tried to turn the pegasus around. However, before the cloud of arrows even reached her there was a sudden, glowing shield of golden energy between her and certain death. The arrows bounced harmlessly off of the golden shield and fell to the ground.

'What…?'

()()()()()()()()()

Below and still under the cover of the trees, Sahria let out a sigh of relief before remembering Chrom's predicament.

'Well, I've always liked a dramatic entrance!' she commented to herself. Reaching into her coat, she brought out a battered tome and opened it. 'Right…here we go!'

A moment later, the teenager blinked out of existence…

()()()()()()()()()

…only to appear just in time to block Raimi's spear from impaling Chrom with a quick golden barrier.

At the sudden stopping of her attack, Raimi snapped her head around in Sahria's direction and narrowed her eyes. 'Who the hell are you?!' she snarled.

Sahria shot her a cheeky grin. 'Nobody, really. Or perhaps somebody? Who knows?' she laughed. 'Mayhaps I am a figment of your imagination, or your conscience stopping you from making a stupid mistake?'

'The only mistake I'm making right now is not killing you!' the Feroxi knight roared. 'A mistake I plan to rectify as soon as possible!' The knight immediately moved in the direction of the grinning teen.

'As pleasant as that sounds, I believe I have another option,' Sahria commented, leisurely dodging the spear thrust that Raimi sent her way. 'I stop you from making aforementioned mistake in a way you'll have no problem accepting!'

'Oh yeah, and how do you plan on doing that?'

'Heh…like so!'

With that, Sahria reached into her coat and brought out a stone.

Seeing it, Raimi scoffed. 'What, you're gonna pelt me with rocks? Are you kidding?'

Not replying, the teen merely brought the stone above her head in a manner familiar to Chrom and Robin who were watching this all play out from their positions on the ground.

A second later, Sahria was engulfed in a burst of golden flames that seemed to be tinged with an odd darkness before the light dissipated to reveal a dragon. This dragon had predominately golden scales, though it had black scales dotted in various places. It lacked the horns and spikes of Raye's dragon form, but it had two pairs of wings instead of just the one. It was also much smaller and delicate looking than Raye but still managed to tower menacingly over Raimi, who now looked suddenly pale.

'So…you still wanna fight, or are ya willing to listen to reason?' Sahria asked nonchalantly, not making a move to attack the Feroxi knight.

'Er…'

Before Raimi could reply, Raye suddenly stomped his way over to the group, an annoyed look on his face as he pointed in Sahria's direction.

'So much for not having a dragon destroying their stupid wall, huh?' he growled at Chrom.

'What are you talking about?' the prince yelped, scrambling to his feet and wincing at the glare that the manakete sent his way.

Without replying, Raye then jabbed a finger in the direction behind Sahria. Everybody present, from Feroxi to Ylissean, looked in the indicated direction and let out cries of surprise; Sahria's sudden transformation had accidentally swept several knights off their feet, leaving them lying on their backs and unable to get back to their feet due to the bulk of their armour, and destroyed part of the ramparts. Even as they looked, several bits of broken stone fell forlornly to the ground below and made thudding noises when they landed.

All of those who weren't currently a dragon slowly looked at Sahria, who somehow managed to look sheepish despite being a dragon.

'Er…oops…?' she said weakly after a few moments of silence.

'Oh for the love of….!' Chrom sighed, putting a hand to his face.

()()()()()()

'I said I was sorry!' Sahria huffed, now in her human form, as she stood in front of Chrom, Robin, Yana and Raye. 'How was I supposed to know that was gonna happen?'

'It should have been common sense!' Raye said loudly in annoyance. 'Transforming on a wall like that…it was only going to end one way, especially considering that the Feroxi were behind you in the first place!'

Cringing away from the withering glare that Raye subjected her to, Sahria protested, 'But…but…they could have gotten out of the way…'

'And how in the name of Naga were they to know that you were a manakete?!' the older manakete thundered. Calming himself after a moment, Raye then looked at her curiously. 'Speaking of…how come I couldn't sense your presence? I can usually either smell or sense our kind from miles away.'

Sahria shrugged. 'Just a little magic I cast on myself to mask my presence. Here, I'll dispel it.' Clicking her fingers, her outline blurred for a moment before returning to normal.

As soon as she did so, Raye nodded. 'Yep, there you are.' He then walked over so that he was standing only a few inches from her…and sniffed her face. 'Hmm…you're a pretty young manakete, huh?'

Due to their sudden closeness, Sahria became acutely aware, not that she hadn't already noticed, that the man before her was incredibly good-looking. She let out a small squeak, something that Raye seemed to miss but the others didn't.

'Erm…yes…I'm only fifteen…' she mumbled, blushing slightly as she caught a whiff of Raye's scent. To her, it was a pleasant aroma, bringing to her mind an image of fields filled with flowers and, oddly enough, honey.

'Hmph, and from the looks of it you've never been taught the ways of our people,' Raye continued, stepping back and crossing his arms. 'Is that a correct assumption?'

'Er…yeah, that's right…' Sahria replied hesitantly, deciding not to mention the fact that she actually HAD been taught a bit of manakete lore in the past.

Raye spent the next following minutes in silent contemplation as he studied her intently. Throughout the silence, Chrom, Robin and Yana smirked as they noticed that the teen was blushing and darting quick looks at the older manakete's face before quickly lowering her gaze again.

'Wow, can he really not see what's happening right now?' Robin whispered to Yana, who suppressed a giggle.

'Raye's always been a little…a LOT…dense when it comes to female feelings,' she whispered back.

'I can see that!'

The two women giggled quietly, and even Chrom had to resist the urge not to laugh as they watched what was happening in front of them.

Eventually Raye grunted and said, 'Right…only one thing for it…' He narrowed his eyes at Sahria, who stood up straight and, for some odd reason, saluted. 'Guess I'll have to bring you along with us and teach you a few things in manakete culture and common sense!'

At these words, Chrom shook himself out of his reverie and said quickly, 'Woah, woah…what?'

'Do you want her to just wander around freely, Prince Chrom?' Raye sighed without looking over his shoulder at the prince. 'Especially since she is clearly reckless.'

'Hey, I'm not reckless…I just don't think before I act…' Sahria said, her voice trailing off as she saw a sudden dangerous light in Raye's eyes as she spoke. 'Erm…anyway, don't I have a say in this?'

Very deliberately, the older manakete slowly shook his head. 'Nope, you don't.' He then chose that moment to look over his shoulder at Chrom. 'And you don't have a say in this either, prince.'

'But…but…' Chrom spluttered before falling silent at the look that Raye now sent his way.

'I'm afraid that I AM insisting,' Raye replied. 'Call it part of my conditions for joining the Shepherds.'

'But I thought that your condition for joining was YANA joining?!' Chrom whined.

Raye rolled his eyes at this. 'Are you seriously complaining about having another manakete with us? She may be reckless, but I can still sense the potential she has within her. Sure, she won't ever be as powerful as me, I can also sense that, but she is certainly going to become a valuable ally in the days to come.'

At his unexpected praise of her, Sahria beamed and, much to Raye's surprise and embarrassment, leapt forward and flung her arms around him.

She then realised what else he had said and frowned up at him. 'What do you mean I'm never going to be as strong as you?'

Raye roughly extracted himself from her grip, replying, 'Your essence…I don't know why, but for some reason it's not entirely…pure.' Seeing sudden tears appearing in the younger manakete's eyes, he hastily added, 'I mean, not that I'm saying that you're not a pure manakete, it's just that your blood is thin…not thin enough to render you weak in any regard, but thin enough that you won't ever reach the heights of a member of one of the greater tribes of the dragons. One of the lesser tribes maybe, but definitely not one of the greater ones.'

'Oh yeah, and what tribe do you belong to, Mister Jerkface?' Sahria snapped, feeling like she should be insulted by Raye's comments.

A matching look of annoyance crossed Raye's face as he replied without thinking, 'If you must know, I belonged to the divine dragon tribe and I was one of the first, so you'd better show a little respect to your new mentor, Little Dragon!'

At his words, the people present, which happened to also include most of the Shepherds, Raimi and several Feroxi troops, all reacted for different reasons.

For Chrom and the Shepherds, excluding Yana who merely sighed and facepalmed herself, the fact that Raye was actually one of the first divine dragons came as a shock. Chrom and Lissa, thanks to their lessons, knew that if Raye's claim was true it would mean that he was perhaps on equal footing with Naga herself.

For Raimi and the Feroxi, the impact was slightly less, but they still knew enough to know that they had narrowly avoided a very violent fate at the hands of another angry dragon.

However, it was Raye's last two words that made Yana freeze. She looked at him and whispered, 'What did you call me?'

'What…oh, Little Dragon?' Raye asked and she quickly nodded. 'I call every dragon younger than me that, and since almost EVERY manakete or dragon these days are younger than me I tend to use it a lot.' He noticed that Sahria now had tears falling down her face and felt a little confused. 'Er…you okay?'

'Yeah…sorry, it's just that someone important to me always used to call me that…' Sahria sniffed, wiping her eyes.

A curious look entered Raye's eyes. 'Another manakete?'

'I'm not sure…he never told me his name or revealed much about himself, but probably yeah, since he had pointy ears like us…' Sahria cocked her head as she realised that Raye's ears were covered by his headband. 'I am assuming that you have pointy ears like me?' She pushed back her white hair to show one of her ears, which was indeed pointed.

'Well, duh,' Raye said sarcastically. He then removed his headband and pushed his own, green hair, back to show off his own pointed ears. 'I always wore the headband to hide my ears, but since everyone's gonna know I'm a manakete at some point in the future anyway, I guess there's no real point to wearing it anymore.' With a sigh, he stuck the headband in his belt.

It was at this point that Chrom chose to speak up. 'Um, what did you mean when you said that you were one of the first divine dragons?'

Cursing under his breath about old age making one foolish, Raye crossed his arms and looked at the prince. 'Exactly what it sounds like, prince; I belonged to the divine dragon tribe, and I was one of the first. No need to think too hard on that.'

Despite the manakete's words, Chrom frowned. 'What do you mean 'belonged'?'

'I…left the tribe after a falling out with one of my fellow manaketes.' Raye held up a hand to forestall Chrom's next question. 'And no; I'm not going to tell you what that falling out was. It's a private and painful affair that I'd rather not discuss. EVER.'

The Ylissean prince decided not to push any more on the subject of Raye's tribe. He instead pointed a finger triumphantly at the manakete and said, 'So you DID know Marth!'

Raye had to fight the sudden urge to either sigh again or punch Chrom in the face.

()()()()()()()()()

After Raimi had made a few quick arrangements with her second-in-command, she then spent the next week and a half escorting the Shepherds to Regna Ferox. Arriving at the large castle that dominated most of it, the knight left her charges in the throne room saying that she would go and fetch the Khan.

'What do you think the Khan's like?' Chrom asked of no one in particular as he inspected a tapestry nearby. It seemed to be depicting a particularly brutal looking battle, with many dead or fighting figures.

'Hmm…perhaps a giant of a man, hairy chest and indomitable personality included?' Robin replied thoughtfully. She then smirked. 'I can already see it as well…in addition to the huge size and hairy chest, he also probably has unkempt, wild hair and a love for drinking!'

Before Chrom could laugh, a voice coming from behind them interrupted him, saying, 'Really? Well, I can't deny the love for drinking part, but the other stuff…'

They all turned around to see a muscular WOMAN standing there. The woman was wearing heavy looking red and white armour, admittedly wild blonde hair and tapping a large sword slightly threateningly on her shoulder.

'Wait…you're the Khan?' Chrom blurted out before hurrying to correct himself. 'I mean…of course you're the Khan! How could we mistake a woman of such obvious strength for a man…'

The woman raised an eyebrow in amusement. 'Perhaps because you'd never met me before? But please; continue flattering me. I might just reward you with something special…' She winked at Chrom, who gulped and caused her to relax. 'Relax, Prince Chrom! If anyone else had said what you did I'd have gutted them where they stood.' She then walked up to Chrom and held out a hand. 'I'm Flavia, Khan of East Ferox.'

'Er, it's a pleasure to meet you, Khan Flavia.'

'Just call me Flavia,' the khan said firmly. She then stepped back and tilted her head apologetically. 'Now, I hear that Raimi attacked you at the Longfort and that she thought you were brigands. I must apologise but there is a reason for that; for several weeks now Plegia has been sending troops disguised as Ylisseans to attack us in the hopes of causing friction between our two countries.'

'Dastards!' Frederick muttered, a look of anger on his face that was matched by Chrom.

Flavia grinned. 'You don't need to worry about anything; we Feroxi aren't stupid enough to be fooled by such tactics. The Plegians were pretty crap at behaving like Ylisseans anyway.'

'Even so, I feel like I have to apologise,' Chrom replied. 'If it weren't for the rising tensions between Plegia and Ylisse, Ferox might have been spared from attack.'

'Eh, like I said don't worry about it,' the khan insisted, waving away the prince's words. 'Why don't you instead tell me why you're here?'

'Right…well, my sister wishes to extend the er…hand of friendship…and hopes that you might agree to an alliance between our two countries,' Chrom said, trying to remember how Emmeryn had instructed him on how to speak to foreign nobles and dignitaries.

'To what end?' Flavia asked.

'Ylisse has recently come under attack by undead monstrosities called Risen. With the border disputes with Plegia, Emmeryn was hoping that if we were to ally with Ferox you would be able to spare some troops to help deal with the Risen threat and perhaps any Plegian raids on our lands.'

Flavia considered Chrom's words before saying, 'If it were up to me, I'd help you. Plegia has been rather irritating and the fact that they're going so far as to pretend to be Ylisseans and drive a wedge between us shows that they may plan to attack Ferox in the future.'

'So you'll help us?' Chrom asked eagerly, but Flavia held up a hand.

'I said if it were up to me, which it isn't.'

Chrom frowned. 'But I thought you were the ruler of Ferox? Surely you can make the decision to…'

Flavia interrupted him by saying, 'I'm the khan of EAST Ferox, prince. There's a khan of West Ferox, an idiot of a man by the name of Basilio, and HE'S the current ruler of Ferox.'

'The 'current' ruler?' Robin piped up curiously. 'You mean that he wasn't always in charge?'

'No. You see, the way we Feroxi choose the ruler of Ferox is by way of a contest of arms that we hold once a year,' Flavia explained, turning her attention to the tactician. 'We khans put forward a champion, along with a selected team of supporting warriors, and whoever's champion is the victor wins their khan the right to rule.' Flavia frowned in annoyance. 'Basilio's been the ruling Khan for nearly six years now thanks to that monster of man Lon'qu. I can't seem to find anyone who's able to match the dastard!'

'I take it this Lon'qu is Basilio's champion?' Chrom asked. Flavia nodded the prince thought for a moment before continuing. 'So if you had a champion who was able to beat him, you'd become the ruling khan?' Again a nod. 'Would you be willing to ally with Ylisse if that were the case?'

'Prince, if I became the ruler of Ferox I wouldn't just ally with Ylisse, I'd probably offer you a night in bed with me!' Flavia laughed at the sudden shocked and red faced look that crossed Chrom's face. 'Relax, I'm kidding! But in all seriousness, yeah; I'd probably agree to an alliance with Ylisse.'

Chrom spread out his arms. 'Well then, looks like you've got yourself a champion and his team!'

'What?' Flavia asked, a question echoed by both Frederick and Robin at the same time.

'I'm saying that I'll be your champion and win you the title!'

The khan studied the prince keenly. 'You're serious, aren't you?' Chrom nodded determinedly. 'Well…' Flavia then grinned and slapped Chrom on the shoulder. 'Sure, why not? If you're volunteering to go up against that monster, so be it!'

'Thank you, Flavia, I promise that you won't be disappointed!' Chrom replied, shaking the khan's hand.

It was at this point that Raye, who had been silently watching the exchange, coughed to draw their attentions. When he had them, he said, 'If it's all the same to you, you won't need the Shepherds.'

'What are you taking about?' Chrom asked, surprised at the manakete's words.

'Chrom, you are too valuable to Ylisse to risk losing,' Raye replied patiently. 'I take it these contests are to the death?' he asked Flavia.

'Not exactly, but more often than not they end up being so,' the khan admitted.

'There you go then. Tell me Chrom, are you also prepared to kill someone who's not Plegian or a bandit?'

'If it means gaining assistance for Ylisse, then yes, I am,' Chrom replied, but they could all sense the uncertainty in his voice when he spoke.

'No, you're not,' Raye said matter-of-factly. 'Pardon me for saying this but you are still naïve about how the world works.'

'Now look here…!' Frederick began hotly but Raye silenced him with a look.

'Can you honestly tell me that my words are false, Frederick?' he asked the knight. 'Can you promise me that Chrom wouldn't hesitate if he were put in an arena full of killers and that he wouldn't hesitate with the killing blow, despite what was at stake?'

Frederick hesitated before sighing and shaking his head. 'Your words have a…certain merit to them, I suppose.'

'Hey, I'm still here,' Chrom muttered, slightly hurt but realising that Raye did have a point. He then sighed and asked Raye, 'So what do you propose?'

'I face them…alone.'

A silence followed the manakete's words before Flavia laughed while Chrom and Frederick considered his words.

When she saw that they were considering it, Flavia scoffed, 'You can't be serious! How can one man be expected to face perhaps the most skilled and dangerous swordsman the world has ever seen, backed up by a group of cutthroats, by himself?'

'If it was anyone else I'd agree with you, Flavia,' Chrom replied slowly. 'But Raye…well, I'm just going to tell you; he's a manakete.'

At these words, Flavia's eyes widened and she quickly studied Raye with renewed interest. When she saw the pointed ears, she let out a breath. 'Woah…you're not lying!' She then grinned. 'Well then, I have to say I wasn't expecting a dragon to show up on my doorstep!'

'Actually, there's two of us!' Sahria piped up, grinning as she showed the khan her own pointed ears.

'How didn't you know about this?' Robin asked. 'Surely Raimi told you how we managed to stop her from attacking us?'

'No, she only said that the prince of Ylisse was here to see me,' Flavia replied. She shook her head. 'I'm going to have to have a word with her about the definition of 'report'.' The khan then switched her attention back to Raye. 'So, you think you can take them all on by yourself?'

Raye grinned. 'I KNOW I can. I won't even need my sword to do it.'

Flavia laughed. 'Heh, I like you!' she chuckled. Turning to Chrom, she said, 'You know what, let him! I'd be interested to see what a manakete can do!'

'But…but I wanted to be the one to….' Chrom protested. 'Won't it mean more if the PRINCE of Ylisse won?'

'As long as people know that he's fighting for both myself and Ylisse and that you intended to fight yourself, which I'd tell them anyway, no one in Ferox will really care,' Flavia replied.

Chrom sighed and turned to Raye. 'Is this really what you think is best?' he asked him. The manakete nodded. 'Any other particular reason why?'

'Other than that one, not really…' Raye began, before smiling. 'Except maybe wanting to have a decent fight; haven't had one in ages!'

Once again, Flavia laughed while both Chrom and Yana shook their heads.

()()()()()()()

'I still can't believe he wouldn't let me join him!' Sahria complained, pouting and crossing her arms as she sat with Chrom, Yana, Flavia and the rest of the Shepherds in a private part of the viewing stand of Arena Ferox that was reserved specifically for the khans and their guests.

'And I can't believe that you were crazy enough to enter only one guy!' a huge, muscular bald man who was sitting next to Flavia chuckled. 'You must really want me to keep ruling Ferox, Flavia!'

'Bah, I'd watch the match first before making judgements, old man!' the female khan retorted. She then looked at the tall man who was standing behind Basilio. 'What I can't believe is that someone actually managed to beat Lon'qu!'

'Hmp…' Lon'qu grunted.

'So who was it?' Flavia asked.

It was Basilio's turn to grin. 'Just wait and see!'

Nervous at hearing this, Chrom whispered to Yana, 'Do you think that Raye can do this?'

Yana smiled. 'Chrom, he's lived for thousands of years, some of it through the most dangerous and harrowing times of history; I don't think any regular person, no matter how skilled, will be able to beat him.'

'Eh, what's this about that guy living for thousands of years?' Basilio asked quickly, having heard Yana's words.

Flavia smirked. 'Did I forget to mention that my champion this year happens to be a manakete?'

Even above the cheers of the crowds of Feroxi, a man could be heard shouting, 'WHAT?!'

()()()()()()

In the gathering area for East Feroxi fighters, Raye was waiting patiently while he listened for the announcer to call his name.

'Representing East Feroxi, give a huge welcome to the Dragon of Death, Raye Rielet!' the announcer thundered. Raye and the others had decided to use the name of his and Yana's destroyed village as his last name, which meant more to the two of them since Raye had been its original founder.

'About time!' the manakete muttered.

Standing up, he made his way up the small sandy ramp towards the arena.

()()()()()()

'And representing the current ruling khan, Khan Basilio of West Ferox, the mysterious Azure Swordsman, Marth!'

At this, Chrom, Lissa, Frederick and Robin looked at each other in shock.

Noticing this, Yana asked, 'You guys okay?'

'Yeah…it's just that this Marth, 'cos it has to be him, helped us out with the Risen,' Lissa explained. 'The same night we met you and Raye actually.' She then pouted. 'But I thought he was supposed to be on our side! Why's he here?'

'Guess we're going to find out,' Chrom said thoughtfully.

The four who had met Marth leaned forwards to get a better look when 'Marth's' team walked out. Lissa let out a gasp and pointed at a familiar, blue clad masked figure.

'It IS him, Chrom!' she cried.

'Yes, I can see that, sis,' Chrom replied, frowning slightly.

()()()()()()

Raye had also been startled to hear the name of his opponent. 'Hmph…Marth, huh? Probably not really him…but why would someone take up his name?' He pondered the question for as he walked to his designated starting area of the arena. 'Guess I'll have to see if he has the skills to back up his hubris.'

()()())()()

Meanwhile, on the other side of the arena, 'Marth', who was in reality a woman by the name of Lucina, was very surprised and a little worried when she saw Raye all by himself. She swept her eyes around at the crowds watching them before she found who she was looking for; Chrom and the Shepherds.

' _What the…why is father sitting there?'_ she thought to herself desperately. _'He's supposed to be here fighting me!'_ Lucina then eyed her unexpected opponent warily. _'Who in the name of Naga is he?!'_

While she was having a mild panic attack, Lucina's team were also put out that one man was expected to fight all of them by himself.

'Hey, what the hell? Is Khan Flavia serious?' one of the men growled.

'This has gotta be a joke!' another muttered.

Snapping herself out of her reverie, Lucina quickly restored order. 'Don't underestimate him, men! There has to be reason why Khan Flavia chose him and him alone to represent her!'

'Guess so…alrighty, Marth, what do you suggest?' a mage asked her.

'Obviously, you mages stay back and barrage him with spells. The knights will take point, while myself and the myrmidons will follow behind.' Lucina looked around at them to make sure that they understood. 'Agreed?'

'Yeah, let's go kick this guy's ass and show him not to be arrogant!' one of the myrmidons cheered.

With shouts of agreement, Lucina's forces made their way cautiously towards their lone opponent.

()()()()()()()

Seeing his opponent's make their way towards him, Raye let out a little chuckle. _'At least they're taking this seriously,'_ he thought to himself. Closing his eyes for a moment and taking a breath, he opened them and muttered, 'Khan Flavia wants a show, so I guess I should oblige!'

With that, he began drawing on his draconic power, grinning as he felt it begin to swell within him.

'Oh, this is gonna be fun!'

()()()()()()()

In the stands, Miriel, the Shepherds' resident genius mage, suddenly felt an overwhelming magical presence beginning to build up, its source Raye.

'This…this power…' she murmured. 'It is unlike anything I've ever felt before…fascinating!'

For the three royals, they all winced when they felt a sudden tingling; Chrom and Yana on their respective shoulders that had the Mark of the Exalt, while Lissa felt it in her heart.

Sahria also grimaced. Her right eye was suddenly making her feel uncomfortable, while her left eye burned even more so.

Robin idly scratched at her right hand, which was covered by her glove, wondering why it suddenly itched.

()()()()()()

Lucina winced and brought a hand up to her left eye. Her brand was suddenly burning slightly.

()()()()()()

In Ylisstol, Emmeryn felt her head suddenly begin to ache and she rubbed her forehead absentmindedly.

' _I must be working too hard,'_ she thought to herself idly before straightening her back and returning to the paperwork in front of her. _'Even so, I must find some way to avoid war…'_

()()()()()()

At the top of the gigantic Mila Tree, a lone, green haired woman suddenly tensed as she felt a presence pressing itself against her mind.

'What…why does this feel familiar?' she whispered.

()()()()()()

In a dark, windowless room, a hooded woman narrowed her eyes as she became aware of a power that was oddly familiar to her.

'What is that?' she growled. 'Or better yet, who?'

()()()()()()

On the banks of a lonely river, an old blind man with grey hair stirred.

'So…there IS still one left in this world…' he murmured. 'I'm not alone…'

()()()()()()

In a cage, a chained, green haired young girl shifted in her sleep as she felt a comforting presence wash over her.

()()()()()()

A brown haired girl looked up from where she was chewing on a leaf.

'What in Naga's name…?' she mumbled past the foliage in her mouth.

()()()()()()

Back in the arena, Raye had finally gathered the power he needed. The observing crowds gasped as, with a sudden roar, huge wings made of flames spread out from Raye's shoulder blades while more flames formed around his arms, finally taking the shape of claws that extended from his hands. Even from the stands, the spectators could feel the heat radiating from his wings and see that the stone underneath his feet was beginning to crack under the pressure.

Clenching his new flame claws, Raye grinned savagely at his opponents, who all suddenly looked terrified. 'Well? You coming at me or do I have to start this party myself?'

()()()()()()()

Lucina quickly tried to rally the men, though she too was feeling very apprehensive about their chances now.

'Mages, attack him now!' she shouted. 'Everyone else, disregard formations; our only chance is to surround him and attack him from all angles!'

Waiting for the mages to begin their barrage, she then joined the rest of her team as they sprinted towards their flame-engulfed opponent.

()()()()()()

'About bloody time!' Raye growled.

Crouching and tensing his leg muscles, he then sprang into the air. Spreading his wings, he used them to propel himself over the heads of Marth and the other close combatants of his team and landed right in the middle of the group of seven mages, who froze and stared at him.

'Boo!' he said simply.

The mages all screamed in terror and, simultaneously, shot several spells at him at point blank range.

To the manakete, it was like they were moving in slow motion; almost lazily his flaming hands moved in a blur as he deflected the spells right back at their casters. In the same, simultaneous manner as when they had cast, all seven mages were flung backwards and impacted with the walls of the arena in several places. The flames on Raye's hands had not only deflected the spells, but had also amplified them when he had transferred a small amount of his own power into them.

As the mages slid unconscious to the floor, the knights, who had had to double back, reached Raye and tried to surround him. There were five of them and together they circled the manakete cautiously. A moment later, the ten myrmidons and Marth arrived.

'Keep spread out!' Marth commanded, bringing his sword up defensively. 'He can't take us all out if we do!'

'Hmph, smart plan!' Raye commented. He then noticed the sword that Marth was wielding and narrowed his eyes. It looked to be an exact replica of Chrom's own Falchion. 'Where the hell did you get that sword, boy?'

'That is none of your business, sir!' Marth retorted, though his voice wavered slightly under the manakete's intense glare.

'Fine, if you're not gonna tell me peacefully, then I guess I'll have beat the truth out of you instead!' Raye roared.

The manakete then rushed towards Marth, but was intercepted by two of the knights and three of the myrmidons. They all tried to stop Raye, but the man merely barrelled through them, tossing them aside with a few swipes from his faming claws. The rest of the knights and myrmidons then all tried to jump him and bear him to the ground, but the manakete took in a breath and, a moment later, let out a stream of fire that sent his opponents scrambling away.

Raye then extinguished his flame claws and, once he had reached Marth, attempted to grab him by the neck. Unfortunately, Marth proved to be faster than he expected and ducked out of the way, slashing at Raye's arm as he did so.

To the manakete's intense surprise, he felt and saw a small cut appear where the sword had sliced him. Even though the quickly healed itself a moment later, he narrowed his eyes at the swordsman in front of him.

'I repeat; where did you get that sword?' he snarled. 'Only a few weapons could harm me like that, and there's only one particular one that looks like THAT!' He pointed at the parallel Falchion in Marth's hands. 'Who taught you how to wield it?'

'My father!' Marth simply retorted.

'Wait…do you mean your father gave you the blade or that he taught you how to use it?' Raye pondered, momentarily distracted by the vague answer given to him. He then shook himself and growled again. 'Whatever…if even one of them is true, then you have a lot of explaining to do, young man!'

'You'll have to defeat me before you get an answer!' Marth proclaimed.

'Hmph, easily done!' Raye retorted. He sighed. 'Guess my claim that I wouldn't have to draw my sword is gonna be false. How irritating!'

With that, he slowly drew his own weapon, which was sheathed to his back. It was a straight, double-edged greatsword, the blade almost two metres long and ten inches wide, while the haft was a further fifteen inches. The blade itself had a shimmering, sapphire blue hue with golden edging. Set into the blade, just above the golden crossguard, were three jewels; the one closest to the crossguard a deep golden, the middle one a bright green and the last a clear white. All in all, the weapon was gigantic and foreboding, Marth gulping as he looked at it.

The scariest thing for the blue clad swordsman was the fact that Raye was swinging it like it was nothing…in one hand.

Raye, seeing his opponent's uncertainty, grinned. 'Like it? Its name is Isleniir, which means Dragon of the Frosty North, although it has also been known simply as Dragon's Rage.' He tossed it lazily into the air with his right hand, where it twirled as it came back down, and caught it in his opposite hand. 'The three jewels represent, in order, honour, courage and faith. Each of them have their own unique power, of course, but I'm not going to use them. Don't want to destroy the whole of Regna Ferox, after all.'

'You…you lie…' Marth stammered uncertainly.

'Maybe I might be exaggerating,' Raye shrugged. 'But since I've barely used it for most of the time I've had it, I can't remember if I am. Either way, better to be on the safe side, right?' He laughed. 'Just as it, it is more than enough to beat you!'

With that, Raye suddenly darted forwards and aimed a left handed, downward slash at Marth, who barely had enough time to bring up his own sword, tiny in comparison to the one wielded by his opponent, and block the attack with grunt.

()()()()()()

' _D…damn…he's terrifyingly strong!'_ Lucina thought to herself. She felt the stone beneath her feet begin to crack and give way under the overwhelming force that was pressing her slowly and inexorably down.

Her knees suddenly gave way after a minute of straining against the force that Raye was subjecting her to and she let out a cry. However, she was saved from falling to the ground by the presence of one arm grabbing her by the waist and holding her in place. She looked up to see Raye, whose face was only a few inches from her own, staring intently into her eyes through her mask. Even though he couldn't possibly actually see them, Lucina knew that that was what he was doing.

'Hmph…so that's how it is…' he grunted after a moment, letting her go after he had set her back on her feet. 'Whatever you're excuse is for this, I don't care.' He then lightly rested the edge of his sword on Lucina's shoulder. 'Yield.'

Lucina hung her head. 'I yield…sir…' She then realised what Raye had said and looked quickly up at him.

Raye raised an eyebrow. 'You're secret's safe with me…girl…' he whispered the last word so that only the two of them could hear him. 'Like I said, I don't really care why. The only thing I'm wondering about is why you have a sword that can both cut me and looks exactly like Chrom's.'

Lucina mentally panicked, though on the outside didn't show it. 'I promise to tell you…after I get my teams' injuries tended to.'

'You better, otherwise I'll be very cross,' Raye grunted before sheathing his sword and walking past her.

The masked woman quickly called out a question to him. 'Wait, sir!' When he paused to look at her, she continued. 'May I have the name of the one who defeated me?'

Raye considered her request before simply saying, 'Raye. I'll see you in an hour near the front gate of the city. Don't be late.' With that, he walked off.

()()()()()()()

An hour later, Raye impatiently tapped his feet in the alley he was standing in. After a few more minutes, he growled.

'Why that little…!' He sighed and asked of no one in particular, 'She's not coming, is she?'

()()()()()()()

 _No, Raye, no she's not._

 _And so ends the chapter._

 _Nothing really that I want to say about this chapter, except that I hope, as usual, that you enjoyed it._

 _If YOU want to say something about it however, leave a review or message me personally. I don't really mind which and I always appreciate feedback, either positive or negative._

 _Ciao for now!_


	8. Chapter 8

-Chapter Eight- An interesting way to cement an alliance-

'Come on, you can do better than that!' Flavia, the newly elected Great Khan of Ferox, roared as she put another mug of Feroxi Wyvern's Ale in front of Chrom. 'This is a time for celebration, so drink up, prince!'

After Raye's overwhelming victory, the khan had wasted no time and declared that there would be a celebratory feast, even inviting the former Great Khan to join them.

'I've…I've already had three…!' Chrom slurred in protest. He had indeed already been forced to down three mugs of the extremely potent Feroxi ale and his head was screaming at him to stop.

'Nope, none of that, prince!' the khan shouted firmly. 'You gotta prove that you've got the guts to not only lead the troops, but also to down our drink!'

'What do those…two things have…to do with…each other?'

Flavia roared with laughter. 'One can't be made without the other, while the other can't possibly live without it!'

'Did…did that make sense?' Chrom mumbled, reluctantly putting the mug of ale to his lips and, with a whimper, chugged a good part of it down.

'Bah, how would I know, I'm absolutely blitzed!'

'Hear, hear!' the West Feroxi Khan Basilio, who had joined in the festivities an hour ago ago, cheered drunkenly from beside her.

The two khans then head-butted each other before taking giant swigs from their own mugs. Unwisely, and in his drunken state, Chrom attempted to mirror their action, only to tip his chair backwards, causing him to fall flat on his back and spill the liquid that remained in his mug over himself.

Seeing the proud prince in such a state caused the two khans and every Feroxi who had been observing the events to roar with laughter.

'Congrats, prince, you're now an honorary Feroxi!' Flavia declared as Basilio hauled both Chrom and the seat back to their normal positions.

Chrom faintly waved his now empty mug in the air and tried to drink from it again but the bald khan stopped him with a snort.

'Okay, boy, I think you've had enough…of that empty mug!' Basilio shouted with amusement. He then motioned for one of the serving girls and pointed at Chrom. 'Girl, get our guest here another of Wyvern's ale!'

As the girl nodded and quickly went to get another mug of ale, Robin shook her head in amusement. She and the Shepherds were sitting at a table nearby, the khans having insisted that Chrom and Raye join them at the head table. Raye had politely declined, saying that he had business in town but that he would join them as soon as he could.

'Do you think it's a good idea for the crown prince of Ylisse to be seen like that?' she asked Frederick, who she could tell was uncomfortable at seeing his lord in such a state.

'It…would be best if I did not comment, Lady Robin,' he replied tersely, his eyes never wondering far from his observance of Chrom.

'Maybe you should join them?' the tactician pressed. 'You know, relax a little? It's clearly working out for Chrom in any case.' Even as she spoke, the Shepherds all winced when Chrom once again tumbled off of his chair.

'Right, that's it!' Frederick huffed and made to stand up. However, he was stopped when Yana gently pulled him back down.

'Oh, let him have some fun, Sir Frederick,' she said. 'I doubt that he'll have time to do something like this again in the near future.'

'But…but, Princess Yana…!' Frederick protested only to have Yana shake her head.

'I might not have been his sister for very long, but I think I say it for all of us when I say that I'd prefer for Chrom to have a few moments of peace.' Yana looked around at the other Shepherds, who all nodded their agreements. She then grimaced when a drunk Basilio slapped her brother's back slightly harder than intended and knocked the poor prince unconscious when his head impacted the table. 'Although…perhaps Lissa should go over there and make sure that he's alright?'

Lissa fearfully shook her head. 'Oh no, I am not going over there!' She pointed at Yana. 'You do it, sis! You're the older one of us and you can probably heal better than I can!'

The older cleric sighed and got up. 'Fair enough…wish me luck!'

The Shepherds watched apprehensively as she approached the khans' table, though none watched as keenly as Sahria, who was standing in a corner to the side. The young manakete had been there since the start of the feast, her excuse being that she was uncomfortable around large crowds.

'Umm…Khan Basilio…' Yana said uncertainly once she had reached the khans' table. 'Is my brother okay?'

Basilio looked up at the cleric and jerked upright. It was the first time he had seen the princess up close and, like many of the Feroxi men who had already seen her, immediately registered the fact that she was an extremely attractive woman with a rather well developed body.

The khan then also registered her words a moment later. 'Brother…you mean the boy?' When Yana nodded, Basilio frowned, an odd look since it clashed with his still drunken expression. 'Didn't realise that there was another princess of Ylisse? Aren't there only three of them? And you certainly ain't Emmeryn or Lissa!'

'It's a complicated story, my lord,' Yana replied patiently. 'Simplified, I'm Chrom's twin sister, Yana.'

'Twin, huh?' Basilio blinked slowly at her as he tried to focus. 'Yeah…I think I can see it now…it's the blue hair…'

'Oh, stop trying to flirt with her, you oaf!' Flavia interrupted, the female khan being slightly more sober than her male counterpart. 'You're much too old for her, for one!'

'Hey, I'm sure she wouldn't complain if I had the chance to show her how much of a man I am!' Basilio drunkenly boasted, unaware of what he had just implied.

Unfortunately, Yana had a clear idea of what he had meant, her cheeks going extremely red in response.

'Right, I think perhaps you need to calm down a little,' she muttered and held a hand out.

A soft golden light then radiated out from her hand and briefly engulfed the inebriated khan. A moment later, the Basilio's eyes cleared he sat bolt upright.

'Woah…I suddenly feel disturbingly sober!' he exclaimed and looked at Yana in surprise.

The cleric smiled. 'You're welcome. Now, as for Chrom…' She put her hand on her brother's back and the golden light engulfed him as well.

It took slightly longer, but Chrom also sat straight up after a moment.

'Wha…where am I?' he grunted.

'Don't worry, Chrom, you're fine,' Yana said reassuringly. 'You just…er…had an unfortunate drinking accident so I healed you of your intoxication and the bruise caused by it.'

'Wait…you can heal intoxication?' Chrom asked, scratching his head. 'Does that make any sense?'

Yana shrugged. 'Considering the fact that I returned the sight to a blind man, are you really that surprised that I can also heal drunkenness?'

'When you put it like that…no, I guess not,' Chrom admitted.

'Hold on, hold on…' Basilio interrupted, holding up his hands. He stared intently at Yana. 'Are you saying that I could get as drunk as I want and you could heal me of it with little effort, meaning that I'd be able to drink even more than I do now?'

'Er…yeah…'

Basilio laughed. 'Oh, by the gods I think I'm in love!' The khan then slapped Chrom on the back and said loudly, 'Hey, boy, how'd you like to consider letting me take your sister's hand in marriage!'

The entire hall went silent at the khan's words, having been able to clearly hear them even over the din of the feast. The Shepherds were frozen, staring at the group. Chrom was wide eyed while Yana had now gone an even deeper shade of red.

'Er…I'm sorry?' Chrom coughed eventually. 'Did you just say that you want to marry my sister?'

'Why not?' Basilio shrugged. 'A woman with a rare talent like she has, with a body like that and looks to match; I think she's any man's dream!'

'Umm…I don't think Yana's up for that,' Chrom replied, looking at his sister nervously.

'I second that,' Yana agreed, nodding embarrassedly.

Basilio waved a hand. 'Bah, it's up to you, but I warn ya; I can be very persistent!'

At this, Yana looked pleadingly at Flavia, who sighed.

'Oh, leave her alone, you old goat!' she growled. 'Who a woman decides to be with is up to her, and no man can ever take that choice away from them!'

Basilio merely shrugged and gestured for a serving girl to bring him a fresh mug of ale. 'Either way, I get the feeling that I won't be the only man who will be after your sister, prince.'

'Hmph, they'd have to get past me first!' Chrom muttered before grinning. 'Or, perhaps worse for them, they'd have to get past Raye!' He snickered at the thought of some poor man trying to court his twin with the temperamental manakete most likely nearby.

At the mention of the manakete, Flavia leaned forwards interestedly. 'Speaking of that fine specimen of the male kind, what else can you tell me about him? I already know he's a manakete, but there must be more to him than that!'

'Wait, the guy's a manakete?' Basilio demanded. He then swore when the others nodded. 'Well, I guess that explains how he wiped the floor with my team so efficiently like that!'

'Heh, I certainly enjoyed the fireworks in any case!' Flavia chortled. 'Did you know he was going to do that 'wings and claws of fire' thing, prince?'

'No, but apparently he was holding back,' Chrom replied. He nodded at his sister. 'At least, that's what Yana said after the match.'

'Seriously!? He has even more power than that?'

Yana nodded. 'In the story of how my village was founded, it's recorded that he destroyed a mountain to make room for it, along with a large swathe of forest.'

Chrom blinked at this revelation. 'You never told me that he was the one that founded your village.'

'Oh…well, he did, several centuries ago.'

'Amazing that we never caught wind of it, or had any records of it.'

Yana coughed nervously, realising that they were straying into territory that Raye had asked her to keep hidden. 'It was during a time when he didn't want to make that much of an impact on history…'

'Well, he's certainly going down in Feroxi history!' Basilio grunted, Flavia nodding in agreement. 'Guess he got over that aversion, huh?'

'Erm…guess so…' Luckily, the other three didn't notice how nervous Yana had become.

Just at that moment however, the subject of their conversation chose that time to enter the great hall. He was immediately met by silence when all of those inside turned to look at him.

'What?' he said after a few seconds of this. 'Never seen someone make a fashionably late entrance before?'

At this, the crowds laughed and returned to their previous conversations, though they looked in Raye's direction every so often as the manakete made his way towards the khans' table, having quickly noticed Yana and Chrom.

'Hey, you, where have you been?' Yana asked as the manakete sat down next to Chrom and immediately reached for an unattended mug of ale.

'Just taking a look around town and seeing if they had anything I wanted,' Raye replied casually, taking a sip of ale. He nodded appreciatively. 'This is pretty good stuff; what is it?'

'Feroxi Wyvern ale, lad!' Basilio replied. 'Best drink in Ferox!'

'I can see why. Don't suppose you have a barrel of it around here?'

'Why?' the bald khan asked and the manakete grinned.

'So that I can drink it straight from the source, of course!'

The two khans laughed at this and Flavia looked at Raye appreciatively.

'You know, I think I quite like you, y'know!' she said, getting up from her seat only to take the one next to Raye. 'How about you and me get to know one another late on tonight?'

'Oi, aren't you the one that told me not to flirt?' Basilio demanded in protest.

Flavia shrugged. 'The difference is that I'm the Great Khan, oaf. I can do whatever, or whoever, I want!' At the last part, the female khan winked slyly at Raye.

Unexpectedly, Raye returned the wink. 'Perhaps I'll take you up on your offer, Khan Flavia.'

There was a stunned silence at the table until Flavia slowly grinned.

'Why, you're the first person to ever answer like that!' she chuckled. 'You realise that I was actually half serious, don't you?'

'And I was FULLY serious, Khan Flavia,' Raye replied, casually taking another sip of ale and making Flavia grin even wider. 'I'm just hoping that you're prepared for the 'attentions' of a dragon.'

'I look forward to finding out…' Flavia purred, resting a hand lightly on Raye's.

Seeing this, Yana and Chrom looked at each other, mixtures of surprise and awkwardness mirrored on their faces. Basilio, on the other hand, was still muttering about the injustices of the world.

'Why don't we go and have some fun right now?' the two Ylissean royals then heard Raye suggest. 'Although you should probably prepare to be late for any appointments you might have planned for tomorrow; I can promise you that you will be.'

At this, Yana let out a noise of embarrassment. 'RAYE!'

The manakete looked at her. 'What?'

'Wha…what are you doing?' the cleric asked weakly.

Her friend contemplated her question. 'Hmm…helping to secure the alliance that Ylisse wants?' he eventually suggested.

'But we've already gained it!' Chrom pointed out, rallying to his sister's side when he saw her go very red in the face.

'Oh yeah…well then, I guess I'm just taking Flavia up on her offer and having some fun for myself.'

'But…you've never taken up ANY woman's offer before!' Yana protested.

An annoyed look entered Raye's eyes. 'Yana, you're not my mother! I think I'm entitled to a night of passion every once in a while.' He then looked pointedly at his friend. 'And anyway, it's been a VERY long time since the last time.'

'You're the one that's always telling me that such an act should only ever be for someone you love!' Yana argued.

'For humans, yes, but for someone like me, who has to see all of his friends or lovers eventually die, it would be a depressing existence if I stuck to that rule,' Raye replied pointedly. 'What does it matter if I decided to indulge in a little physical intimacy every now and then? And in answer to your point of me never really doing this before, I pretty much considered the villagers as part of my family, akin to my children in all honesty. It would've been a little weird for me to bed any of them because of that.'

Hearing this, Yana felt slightly guilty for her protestations. She could certainly see his point, especially now that Raye had revealed his real origins and knowing firsthand how seriously Raye took familial bonds.

The cleric sighed. 'I guess you're right…but I have to ask; would you have done this if we hadn't been able to secure an alliance like we had?'

'Probably, if Khan Flavia had asked,' the manakete replied, shrugging. 'Although I doubt that she would have if she hadn't seen my strength.'

'He's not wrong there,' Flavia piped up, smirking. 'Every Feroxi woman likes a man of strength, and you're friend certainly has that!' She then grabbed Raye's hand and, standing up, pulled him out of his chair. 'Speaking of, I've decided that I'm VERY curious to see if you can back up your claim about making me late for tomorrow's appointments! Also, since you've apparently had so many lovers, I want to see what sort of techniques you've picked up through the years!'

As the khan led him out of the room, to the awe and respect of both the Shepherds who had been watching and the Ferox warriors, Raye said over his shoulder, 'Don't wait up!'

As they disappeared, Yana put her face in her hands.

'I could have gone my entire life without hearing that…' she mumbled. Chrom didn't answer, instead patting his sister sympathetically on the back.

()()()()()()()()

The next day, Chrom and the other Shepherds were being seen off by Basilio, who had a surprise for them; the man Lon'qu, Basilio's former champion before Marth, had been placed under Chrom's command at the khan's behest.

'Is this want _you_ want, though?' Chrom asked the Feroxi swordsman uncertainly.

Lon'qu stared at the prince for a moment before replying, 'It does not matter whether I wanted it or not, the khan has ordered me to join you. My prerogatives now are to stab whatever you tell me to stab.'

'Right…'

'Oh, relax Chrom!' Lissa said cheerfully. 'Besides, he's so strong looking I'm sure that he'll prove himself soon enough!'

As the princess walked forwards, all smiles and with a hand out to the Feroxi, Lon'qu jumped back.

'Away, woman!' he growled, much to everyone's surprise.

'Yeah…Lon'qu's got this thing about women,' Basilio explained gruffly. 'Can't stand to be too close to them, though it's not that he's sexist or anything.'

'Ah, so he suffers from gynophobia,' Miriel commented.

'…What…?' the khan asked, confused.

'A fear or disliking of the female kind,' the mage explained. 'It is actually a rather common affliction, and quite a fascinating one also.' She looked keenly at Lon'qu. 'I don't suppose you'd be willing to allow me to study your interactions with females?'

'Just…just keep away from me!' Lon'qu replied through gritted teeth.

Before Miriel could reply, they were all distracted by the appearance of Raye, followed closely by Flavia. The female khan had a flushed, slightly breathless, look about her while the manakete looked the most relaxed that any of the Shepherds had seen him.

'Master, about time you showed up!' Sahria said, the first one to make a comment. 'Guess you weren't kidding when you said you'd make her late with your…'attentions'…'

'How did you know he said that?' Flavia asked surprised.

Sahria grinned. 'I'm a manakete as well, remember?'

'Oh, right…good hearing…'

At this, the younger manakete blushed slightly. 'Yeah…about that…I may have kinda…heard you guys going at it…'

All those present spluttered at her words, while Raye looked disapprovingly at his young apprentice.

'It's rude to eavesdrop, y'know,' he reprimanded her.

'Oh, gross, why in the name of Naga would I WANT to eavesdrop on that, master!?' Sahria protested in a disgusted tone. A curious look then entered her eyes. 'Although…I am curious as to why Khan Flavia kept preying to Naga; I counted one hundred and seven uses of Naga's name during your time together. Does one normally invoke a god during sex?'

All of the Shepherds stared at Sahria, mortified at her words now. Raye sighed while Basilio and Flavia snickered.

'I think I'll save that talk for someone who actually cares to give it to you,' Raye grunted. 'Yana, why don't you explain it to her?'

'Oh, no, she's YOUR student, you do it!' Yana replied quickly, cheeks burning red.

Chrom chose that moment to clear his throat. 'IF we could get back to serious matters?' He turned to look at Flavia, though quickly found himself unable to look her in the eye given what had been discussed and instead looked down at the ground. 'Erm…so, can Ylisse expect Ferox to support us?'

'Yes, prince, you'll have your troops,' Flavia replied, amused by what she saw. 'I'll begin preparations for Feroxi reinforcements to start marching in the next week or so, so you can tell Exalt Emmeryn to expect them.'

'Thank you, Flavia, this will mean a lot to my sister and to Ylisse,' Chrom said in a relived tone.

Flavia waved away the prince's gratitude. 'Think nothing of it, Chrom. Anything to stick it to Plegia is what I say!'

With a smile and a shake of the two khans' hands, Chrom then gestured for the Shepherds to move out.

Before Raye could join them, Flavia took him by the arm and whispered in his ear, 'If you're ever in the area again, don't hesitate to join me in my bedchambers.' She grinned at him. 'I quite enjoyed last night and like you would appreciate another night of enjoyment.'

'Certainly, Flavia, I look forward to it,' Raye replied with a cheeky wink. 'I must say, I also enjoyed our night together.'

'Alright, be off with you before the Shepherds think I've decided to keep you for myself!' Flavia laughed, slapping Raye's rear as he turned to leave.

When the Shepherds were out of ear shot, Basilio commented, 'So…fun night, huh?'

Flavia shrugged and smiled mysteriously. 'A khan doesn't kiss and tell, you oaf.'

'Right…because 'kissing' was all you kids were doing…'

()()()()()()()()

 _Relax people, I'm not making Raye and Flavia a thing, though I think those two would be hilarious together. At the very least they'd make the Shepherds' lives a bit more awkward._

 _In answer to a question put forward by_ _ **99**_ _, at a certain point the events of the story will veer slightly away from the game. Nothing too major for the most part, but at an even further point there will definitely be a few major changes. I'm not saying what, I'll let you guys wonder about it. I do always enjoy theories._

 _I'm hoping that I got the personalities of Flavia and Basilio right, since I never ended up using them in the game, meaning that I never got their supports. It did slightly annoy me that they could only ever S-Support with the Avatar, though, but I guess I understood?_

 _Speaking of supports, the awaited, and probably not anticipated, interlude chapter is coming up. I've decided that any interlude chapters will focus primarily on the relationship building between certain characters per chapter and will happen much like in the game i.e in the barracks outside of the story proper. Don't worry though; I'll try to make them as smooth and as natural as possible, the support conversations differing from their game counterparts in the interest of story purposes and being (very) short stories in their own rights._

 _Ciao for now!_


	9. Interlude Chapter One

-Interlude Chapter 1- Barracks Downtime Part 1- Exalted Bonds and Manakete Shenanigans-

 **-Yana/Lissa-**

'Big sister!' Lissa yelled as she threw herself into Yana's arms and causing them both to crash to the ground.

'Oof…Lissa!' Yana laughed. 'What are you doing?!'

'Making sure that my love is reaching you, that's all!' the blonde cleric smiled. She then snuggled into Yana's embrace, sighing happily. 'I'm glad that you're becoming more comfortable being part of our family!'

'So am I, Lissa,' Yana replied, stroking Lissa's hair as she resigned herself to having to lie on the ground with her sister on top of her. 'I was a little apprehensive at first, but thanks to you and Chrom and Emmeryn when she has the time, I'm starting to feel more at home.'

'Good, that's been my goal since day one!' Lissa cried triumphantly. She then looked up at her sister. 'Say, do you have any other stories about your life in Rielet that you can tell me?'

At her sister's words, a slightly pained expression crossed Yana's face, which Lissa immediately saw.

'Oh, I'm so sorry, Yana!' she said quickly. 'I shouldn't have mentioned…'

'No, it's alright, Lissa,' Yana interjected awkwardly. 'I just…wasn't prepared for you to ask that so soon and so suddenly…'

'We can talk about something else if you want?'

'Perhaps that's a good idea…what would you like to talk about then?'

Relieved that Yana had changed the subject, Lissa eagerly replied, 'Anything you like!'

Yana laughed and kissed the top of Lissa's head affectionately.

'Well then, how about I tell you about this new prank I've been thinking we could try on Chrom?'

Matching evil grins crossed the sisters' faces as Yana whispered her plans to Lissa. The blonde giggled and when her sister was finished she let out a laugh.

'Oh, gods, that's hilarious!' she snorted. 'Chrom is never gonna be able to live that one down, and it totally seems like something Frederick would do!'

Even as she spoke, the great knight in question came walking up to them.

'Excuse me, your highnesses, but have you seen milord around?' Frederick asked, bowing slightly to the two princesses.

Keeping a straight face, Yana put on a thoughtful expression before replying, 'No, but it's a good thing that you're here, Frederick; there's a matter we wanted to discuss with you.'

'Oh?' the knight replied cautiously, eyebrow raised.

'How do you think morale is around here…?'

 **-Chrom/Frederick-**

Chrom's ears burned red with embarrassment as he tore down yet another poster of himself naked. He had walked into the eating tent a few hours ago when he saw to his horror the (first) evil painting. His horror grew to even greater heights when he soon realised that there were many, many more of the insidious articles, posted throughout the entire Shepherds' camp.

'Who the hell even had time to do such a painting?' he mumbled to himself. 'Did it happen when I was drunk in Ferox?' He immediately shook his head; thanks to Yana, he had been cured of his intoxication that night and had made a firm note not to continue afterwards.

'Whoever it is, they shall pay a retribution so cruel that they'll think I was descendant of Grima!' Chrom vowed under his breath even as he spotted another poster nailed to a nearby tree.

As he tore it down, he heard someone walk up behind him. Turning around, he saw that it was Frederick and that the knight was frowning.

'Milord, why did you do that?' the knight asked.

'Why do you think?!' Chrom cried in reply. 'You don't think it's at all embarrassing that there are posters of me NAKED every around the camp?'

'Personally, I think that they're uplifting,' the knight replied simply.

At this, Chrom narrowed his eyes as an awful thought entered his mind.

'Frederick…did you do this?' he asked, although he was already half sure of the answer.

'Of course, milord!' the knight said, without any hint of shame or regret.

'WHY?!'

Frederick looked surprised. 'Well…it recently came to my attention that morale may have been lacking of late, what with the attacks by the Plegians and the emergence of the Risen.'

'And you thought that nailing naked pictures of myself to almost every surface would raise morale?' Chrom cried shrilly. 'How did you even…WHEN did you even…?' Chrom's words trailed off, so speechless was the prince at what his bodyguard had one.

Frederick frowned. 'Well, since the vast majority of our troops are female, I assumed that they at least would appreciate the sight of your pure self every so often. As for the male Shepherds, they might feel the need to improve once they beheld the glory that is your body. In regards to when, I painted the pictures myself from memory a few days ago.'

The sheer seriousness of the knight's declaration rendered Chrom even more speechless than before, which was impressive all things considered.

Trying to keep control of himself, Chrom rubbed his eyes as he said, 'Frederick…are you trying to tell me that you did all this because you genuinely thought that this WOULDN'T make me a laughingstock?'

'A laughingstock? Milord, if anything, the sight of your magnificent self will…'

Frederick's next words were interrupted when Chrom held up a hand. 'Enough! I don't want to hear the rest of that!' He sighed. 'Just…just take them all down, please. And I mean ALL of them!'

'If milord wishes…then very well,' Frederick replied, looking slightly disappointed. 'But what shall raise the morale of the troops then?'

'I'll think of something!' Chrom said through gritted teeth. 'Just go and do what I've ordered!'

As the dejected looking great knight went off to do his bidding, Chrom sat down on a nearby tree trunk and breathed a sigh of relief.

()()()()()()()()

In another part of the camp, two ladies, one blonde and the other blue, were laughing their heads off.

 **-Chrom/Robin-**

Robin looked up as Chrom slowly entered the command tent.

'Hey, what's up, Chrom?' she asked when she saw the dead look on the prince's face.

'Oh…just something that Frederick's done made me realise that I'm surrounded by idiots…' the prince of Ylisse faintly replied.

Robin smirked. 'I hope you're not including me when you say that!'

Chrom smiled. 'Nah, you're fine. Just make sure you never paint me naked or anything.'

'What?'

'Er…never mind,' Chrom replied hurriedly. In an attempt to steer the conversation away from dangerous territory, he gestured towards the maps in front of Robin and asked, 'So, got a plan to deal with all the Risen that have been popping up?'

His tactician sighed and rubbed her forehead. 'No…if I knew where they were coming from, or who was summoning them, then I'd be able to craft a plan to neutralize them but until we do…all we can do is react as fast as we can whenever we hear about their presence.'

Chrom frowned and moved next to Robin. 'It sounds pretty bad…you sure that there's no pattern to their appearances?'

'Apart from the fact that they've so far only appeared in isolated parts of the Halidom, no,' Robin replied regretfully. 'It makes it that much harder to predict when or where they might show up.'

'I suppose that's a blessing in disguise,' Chrom mused. 'As long as they don't threaten any of the larger settlements then we might be able to contain them, at least for a while.'

'It's the more isolated villages that I'm most worried about,' Robin pointed out. 'They're so far out the way that by the time word of a Risen attack reached us it would be too late.'

'It's been like that ever since the Halidom was formed I'm afraid,' Chrom sighed. 'Back then it was bandits, now it's the Risen. Either way those villages are going to have to be able to fend for themselves until help reaches them.'

'Doesn't mean I have to like it,' Robin muttered.

Chrom grunted and swept his eyes over the map for the next few minutes. After a while, he became aware of a sweet scent and it didn't take him long to found that the source was Robin.

'Hey…did you have a bath before you came here?' he asked suddenly.

Robin raised an eyebrow. 'No…why?'

'It's just that you smell like…-' Chrom sniffed the air for a moment before continuing. '-lavenders and roses…'

'Oh…that's just a perfume that Yana lent me. She said that I might like it and she was right.' Robin grinned. 'Your sister certainly has a good nose on her.'

Chrom studied the tactician for a moment. 'Huh…never would have thought that you were into those sort of things.'

Robin looked at him in surprise. 'What, perfumes and such?' The prince nodded. 'Why not?'

'You've just never struck me as that much of a woman,' Chrom replied, completely unaware of what he was saying.

Unfortunately for the prince, as soon as he spoke, the tactician's eyes narrowed dangerously and she balled her hands into fists.

'Excuse me?' she growled.

Something about her tone made Chrom immediately regret what he had just said and he hurriedly tried to defuse the situation.

'Er…no, I didn't mean it like that!' he stammered. 'I just meant that…in the time that I've known you you've become something like one of the guys!'

'One of the guys?!' Robin repeated angrily.

'Wait…that didn't come out right…what I meant by that was…er…you're not as ladylike compared to say…Maribelle or…or...' As he valiantly tried to salvage the situation, the prince became uncomfortably aware that Robin was slowly bending down and, after a few seconds, straightened with a large rock in her hand. 'Erm…Robin…what are you doing with that rock…?'

'Oh, you know, since I'm 'one of the guys' I thought we could roughhouse for a bit,' Robin replied in a dangerously sweet voice. 'After all, GUYS enjoy that sort of thing, right?' An evil look then appeared on the tactician's face at that moment. 'I sure hope that another, more LADYLIKE lady will be able to heal you later, because you might need it after we finish playing around!'

With that, she proceeded to throw the rock at Chrom, who barely managed to duck. With a terrified look, he saw Robin bend down for another rock and, before she could send another one his way bolted out of the tent.

'GET BACK HERE YOU COWARD!' he heard Robin screech even as she began to chase after him. 'WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH YOU YOU'LL WISH THAT YOU WERE ONE OF THE GIRLS!'

As the tactician chased the prince into the food tent, they nearly knocked over the table that Raye and Sahria were sitting at.

'Hey, what the hell…?' Raye shouted after them in annoyance as they left the tent as quickly as they had entered it.

'Er…what was that about, master?' Sahria wondered, staring after them.

'How the hell would I know?' the older manakete grumbled as he turned back to face her. 'Now then, let's get back to our lesson, shall we?'

'Alrighty!'

 **-Raye/Sahria-**

'So, how old are you again?' Raye asked as he and Sahria exited the food tent.

'Sixteen!' the girl beside him replied cheerfully. She then eyed him suspiciously. 'Why? I hope you aren't thinking anything weird, master?'

'No, and even if you were of age I wouldn't go there,' Raye grunted in reply.

'What? Why?' Sahria pouted. 'You don't think I'm cute or anything?'

Raye sighed. He then grinned internally before stopping and grabbing Sahria by the shoulders, causing the girl to let out a surprised squeak, and looked deeply into her eyes.

'I suppose now that I look at you properly…you aren't so bad,' he said in a mock contemplative tone. 'And you ARE the only female manakete I've met in a very long time.' He cocked his head thoughtfully. 'I mean, Flavia was fun and all, but there are things that only a manakete would be able to do with me…or FOR me…' He let the words hang in the air for a moment as he secretly watched for Sahria's reaction.

As he had expected, the younger manakete had gone a very bright shade or red and her entire body had frozen under his grip.

'Uh…uh…I mean…master…that's….' she stammered, before looking quickly down at her feet and shuffling them. 'If…if you really…er…I mean to say…'

Raye let go of her shoulders and let out a laugh. 'Relax kid, I'm just messing with you!' He grinned when Sahria looked quickly back up at him with wide eyes. 'I trust that I've made sure that you won't ever suggest something like that again?' He then turned around and gestured. 'Come on, I want to see how quick you can transform.'

Sahria stared after him. His pretend offer had, oddly enough, made her feel slightly pleased. She realised that might have been because it had been the first time any man had ever proposed such a thing to her, even if the man had been teasing her.

As the teenager slowly followed the older manakete, her young mind began to slowly imagine certain instances of her and Raye alone, and these thoughts brought another flush to her cheeks.

' _I wonder what he considers as a 'woman'?'_ she wondered idly to herself before realising that Raye had come to a stop as they reached the edge of the camp. 'What's up, master?' she asked out loud.

'Take out your dragonstone, kid,' Raye commanded. 'Show me how fast you can take on your dragon form.'

Complying, Sahria brought out her dragonstone and, after a second of concentration, transformed into her dragon form. As she stood there, Raye circled her, eying her in a way that made Sahria's dragon blood react in an odd way. He then stopped in front of her and nodded.

'Well, as much as I might like to make fun of you, you really are a beautiful young dragon,' he commented. He didn't see how his remark made Sahria blink in surprise. 'Good scales, bright colours and fairly sharp teeth…you've clearly been looked after.' He frowned at her then. 'By the way, you never elaborated on that former master of yours.'

' _Oh…er, he died several years ago…'_ Sahria lied awkwardly. Thankfully for her, the older manakete seemed to believe her. _'Been on my own ever since.'_

'Sorry to hear it, Little Dragon,' Raye said in a more sympathetic tone. 'I know what it's like to lose someone special to you.'

Sahria cocked her head in curiosity. _'Who did you lose, master?'_

Raye waved her question away. 'Nobody that I care to mention for the moment.' He smiled at her sadly. 'Sorry, it's just that I've lived with the guilt for so long that I'm not very good at letting other people in.'

' _You don't need to apologise, master,'_ the younger manakete assured him, shuffling her wings awkwardly. _'I understand.'_

Her mentor nodded gratefully before clapping his hands together. 'Right, now that I've acknowledged that you are a fine young dragon, let's see how well you can fly!' He grinned and brought out his own dragonstone. 'I'll be joining you for this test!'

With that, the inferno that announced his transformations engulfed him, dissipating a moment later and revealing the dark red form of the older manakete. Now that the both of them had taken on their draconic forms, it was clear just how much larger Raye was compared to Sahria; he was well over twice her size and the younger manakete couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated as she looked up at him.

' _What?'_ Raye asked when he noticed her scrutinizing him.

' _Sorry, master, it's just…you're so large!'_ Sahria replied. _'Am I gonna get that big?'_

' _If you manage to live as long as I do, then probably,'_ Raye replied dismissively. He then spread his wings and looked pointedly at her. _'You ready?'_

Sahria nodded and raised all four of her own wings, a sight that made Raye grunt contemplatively.

' _I will admit, I was slightly surprised to see that you had four wings,'_ he commented.

' _Is that uncommon?'_ Sahria asked.

' _Not as such…it's just that you don't strike me as a Wind Dragon, who were the ones who had four wings instead of two.'_ Noticing her inquiring look, Raye elaborated. _'The Wind Dragons were named as such for two reason, one being their mastery over the wind. The other was because due to their two pairs of wings they were able to fly much faster than the other tribes. Unfortunately, they all died out several thousands of years ago, so I have no idea if you're descended from them or not.'_ He looked at her in annoyance. _'It would help if you told me exactly who your parents were.'_

' _Sorry, master, I just don't know who they are,'_ Sahria replied, lying once again. _'From what my previous master told me, he found me abandoned near a ruin in Plegia.'_

' _Hmm…perhaps I should go investigate this ruin, maybe I'll find some clues to your origins there,'_ Raye mused.

Sahria tried to cover up her sudden nervousness by saying, ' _If you want, I just wouldn't expect anything to come of it.'_ She then cleared her throat hurriedly. _'Anyway, are we doing this or not?'_

' _Right…and don't expect me to go easy on you by the way,'_ Raye replied sternly.

With that, the two dragons shot into the air and began the lessons that the older manakete had decided on.

()()()()()()()()()()

 _And so the first of the Barracks chapters has ended. There will be more coming up, but they will more focus on the Exalted siblings and the manaketes, since they are the more important part of the story. Fret not though, the other Shepherds will bond during the story proper, I just felt that the characters in this Barracks chapter needed more of the spotlight. A little selfish, I know, but hopefully you can stick with it. If you can't then tell me so and I'll consider making more Barracks chapters that focus more on the other Shepherds as well as the main characters._

 _In regards to the prank that Lissa and Yana pulled on Chrom, with the unwitting help of one great knight, I thought that it was an amusing idea at the time and decided to expand on it from the game. Apologies, since I cannot remember which stage of the support that Chrom and Frederick discuss the 'naked poster' incident, but since it fit smoothly with Lissa and Yana's C-Support I hope you can forgive me on this one._

 _As for Sahria and Raye's interesting interaction, it came about because, since Sahria has reached that age of development, combined with the fact that she never had any lessons on matters of the heart, she might be slightly (ok, a lot) naïve in these circumstances. It also doesn't help that Raye is one dense idiot and says stuff like he did in this chapter. He may have been only joking, but to a young, impressionable manakete it may have seemed otherwise. Don't worry though; Raye is not about to become a cradlesnatcher as long as I have a say in it, which as the writer I do._

 _The next chapter will go back to the story proper, so I hope you're prepared for it!_

 _Ciao for now!_


	10. Chapter Nine

_Popping in beforehand to say that from here on out, the story is going to start veering away (ever so slightly for now) from the canon/base game. It won't be too much of a change for now, just warning all of you that it has begun. I hope you're ready, cos this is gonna be a wild ride!_

()()()()()()()()

-Chapter Nine- Of Pot Helmets and Voices-

As Chrom rubbed the spot on the back of his head where one of the stones Robin had hurled at him the day before, he looked ahead. Knowing that Ylisstol would be visible soon, he checked behind him to see how the rest of the Shepherds were doing. Robin, who still refused to meet his eyes, was riding alongside Lissa and Yana who both had smirks on their faces, while Frederick was diligently riding alongside his prince. Raye, as he had ended up doing in the week since they had left Ferox, was making sure that Sahria wasn't about to wonder off. The younger manakete had already delayed their journey twice when she had seen something off to the side and immediately gone to investigate. Now, however, she was under the close scrutiny of her mentor, which Chrom was immensely grateful for.

'Milord, what are your plans for once we reach Ylisstol?' Frederick asked then, turning the prince's focus back to the front.

'Meet with Emmeryn, report our success and then a nice, soothing bath,' Chrom sighed in contentment. 'I tell you, Frederick; it's going to be a massive relief to be able to just relax and enjoy a moment's peace to myself!'

'Hmm…yes, I did hear about what happened with you and Lady Robin,' the great knight commented, a slight frown on his face. 'Saw it as well.' He looked severely at his prince. 'Milord, how many times have I told you to always think before you speak? Perhaps I should have Lady Maribelle give you some more lessons on etiquette?'

A horrified look crossed Chrom's face at this suggestion. The only things worse than Frederick's Hour (and more) of Fitness Madness were etiquette lessons with the Shepherds' resident noble. She had a tendency to smack her unfortunate students over the head with a riding cane…or her staff…or anything else she could get her hands on.

'Er, no Frederick, I don't think that will be necessary!' Chrom quickly replied. 'I'll just apologise to Robin once she's cooled off and read a book on that stuff later.' Before the knight could reply, the prince continued, pointing ahead of them. 'Oh look, Ylisstol!'

The capitol of the Halidom was indeed now able to be seen in the distance. Chrom gladly led the way forwards, eager to put some distance between him and Frederick, if only to avoid any more mention of etiquette lessons.

()()()()()()()()

'So we are to receive reinforcements from Ferox?' Emmeryn sighed in relief, sinking back into her throne. 'Excellent work, brother; I will admit that I was slightly worried about not attending to this matter personally.'

Chrom had immediately went to see Emmeryn in the throne room once they'd arrived at the capitol and had caught her up on the events at Ferox.

'What, did you think I'd mess it up somehow?' Chrom joked now. Emmeryn raised an eyebrow at this, causing her brother to grin sheepishly. 'Yeah, ok...fair point...'

The Exalt shook her head in amusement. 'I'm just glad that you secured our alliance despite…yourself.'

'Well, as much as I'd like to claim responsibility for it, that honour really goes to Raye,' Chrom admitted. He then looked around and motioned to the manakete in question, who was standing to the side with Sahria.

Noticing that the attention was now on him, Raye stepped forward and bowed. 'It was no problem, your highness; merely doing my duty as a citizen of Ylisse.'

Emmeryn smiled before standing up and, much to the surprise of everyone in the room, knelt in front of Raye. 'It is I who should be bowing to you, my lord. It is an honour to have such an esteemed figure aiding us as you have thus far.'

Raye scratched his head awkwardly. 'Er…you don't have to give me such thanks, kid. I'm perfectly happy merely serving the crown.'

''Kid'?' Phila, Emmeryn's female version of Frederick and commander of the Ylissean Pegasus Knights, repeated in an annoyed voice.

'It is no trouble, Phila,' Emmeryn assured the knight, getting back to her feet. 'I'm sure that to someone as old as he is we are all but children.'

'You're not wrong there, your highness,' Raye muttered. He then cleared his throat and brought Sahria to the front. 'Speaking of manaketes, let me introduce my new apprentice, Sahria.'

Surprised, Emmeryn looked back at Chrom. 'I was not aware that you had another manakete under your command, not that she was Lord Raye's apprentice.'

'We…er…encountered her during a Risen attack,' Chrom explained. 'She saved Yana and Lissa by summoning some giant knight but then ran off after the battle was over. We then met her again at the Longfort where she saved my life from the captain of the guard.'

'Yeah, she might have destroyed part of their wall,' Raye put in, glaring slightly at Sahria, who stuck her tongue out at him. 'Seeing that she was pretty reckless, I've since decided to take her on as my apprentice and teach her the ways of our people.'

'And I'm sure that you will do a fine job, Lord Raye,' Emmeryn smiled.

'Ok, gonna stop you right there,' Raye said huffily. 'You call me 'Lord' one more time and I'll burn this castle to the ground.'

'Why you..!' Phila growled at this statement, but Emmeryn held up a hand.

'Apologies L…I mean Raye,' she said, bowing her head. 'It's just that manaketes such as yourself are considered holy beings in Ylisse. I did not mean to offend.'

Raye grunted. 'So long as you recognise and don't repeat that mistake.'

Sahria then piped up, asking, 'Hey, does that mean people are gonna worship me as well?'

'Not if I can help it!' Raye snapped. 'I think the humans deserve someone a little more mature than you to worship!'

'Hey, I can be mature!'

'Clearly you can't since you're arguing with me!' Raye replied, annoyed.

'You're a Jerkface, master!'

'And you're a child!'

'Well, you're also ugly!'

'Am not!'

'Are to!'

Yana quickly moved between the two manaketes, who had dangerous looks in their eyes. 'Please, if you're going to argue at least do it outside of the confines of the city!' she said sternly. 'Raye, stop being a hypocrite!' As the elder manakete spluttered in protest, the princess then turned to Sahria. 'And Sahria…I'm sure that you're not immature, so why don't you try and show Raye that you aren't?' As the two manaketes looked shamefaced down at the ground, Yana relaxed. 'There…now, shake hands you two.'

Sighing, the two manaketes stepped towards each other and, looking rather like two children who had been reprimanded by a parent, shook the other's hand.

'Sorry, Little Dragon…guess I let my temper get away from me again…' Raye grudgingly admitted.

'Maybe…and I'm sorry that I called you an ugly Jerkface…master…' Sahria replied. 'You're actually pretty good looking, if I'm gonna be honest.'

As the two manaketes grinned at each other, Yana sighed in relief. As she rejoined her siblings, Emmeryn laughed.

'I must say, I thought I'd seen everything!' she chuckled. 'But seeing a human step between two arguing manaketes and calm them…that was rather amusing to watch!' She smiled at Yana. 'You really are of the Exalted blood to be able to do that, Yana!'

Amidst the laughter that followed the Exalt's words, none of them registered at first that there was a knock on the door to the throne room. After the third knock, they noticed and Phila went to open the door.

On the other side was one of the palace guard, accompanied by a young man who looked to be around Lissa and Sahria's age.

'Yes, guardsman, what is it?' the commander of the Pegasus Knights asked.

'Apologies for interrupting, Lady Phila, but this young man has an urgent request for the Exalt,' the guard replied, gesturing to his companion.

'This may not be the best time…' Phila began, but was interrupted by Emmeryn who had heard the exchange.

'It's alright, Phila, I will hear what the man has to say,' she said and gestured for the guard to bring the man forward.

Once he was in front of the Exalt, the young man, more teenager, quickly bent his knee before speaking.

'Sorry for interruptin' yer important meeting, your worshipfulnesses,' the boy said, anxiously adjusting the pot that he was wearing for some reason on his head. 'My name's Donnel, though ma and me friends call me Donny…' Donnel frowned. 'I tell 'em not to keep callin' me that, tho, but they keep insistin' on…'

'Get to the point of your visit, please,' Phila snapped impatiently, causing the young man to jump and bow his head quickly.

'R…right, sorry ma'am,' he stammered. 'My reason fer comin' here was ta ask for help fer my village.'

'Have Risen attacked your village?' Emmeryn asked concerned.

Donnel shook his head. 'Nah, you worshipfulness…bandits!' A grimace crossed the boy's face. 'Led by one dastard of a man known as Roddick the Mountain!'

Chrom narrowed his eyes at the mention of the name of the bandit leader. 'Roddick the Mountain? He's one of Ylisse's most wanted!'

'Indeed, milord,' Frederick agreed. 'Roddick the Mountain has been responsible for many a razed village over the last three years and all attempts to bring him to justice have failed.' The knight grunted distastefully. 'The man unfortunately lives up to his title and is unmoving as a mountain.'

Chrom looked thoughtful as Frederick spoke, and when the knight was finished took his turn to speak. 'But then…none of the forces that have tried to bring him to heel have had two manaketes with them…'

All those present looked at the prince, then at the two manaketes in question. Raye exchanged glances with his apprentice before grinning.

'Sure, I think we're both up for wiping out a group of bandits!' he chuckled. 'What say you, apprentice of mine?'

Sahria responded by letting out a little giggle. 'Sounds like fun, master!' A grin then appeared on her face that sent chills up Chrom's spine. 'I wonder if they'll be as amusing to terrify as the Feroxi were?'

'Maybe this isn't such a good idea letting those two loose…' Chrom muttered under his breath.

()()()()()()()

Meanwhile, at the top of the Mila tree, a green haired woman was still wondering over the presence she had felt over a week ago. Finally, she suddenly stood up from where she had been sitting.

'I can't stand this, I have to know!' she muttered. Closing her eyes, she let out her thoughts before connecting to the one who she communed with. _'Mother…did you feel that as well?'_

A moment passed before a soft, whispering voice echoed in the woman's mind. _'Yes, Tiki my child, I would have been hard pressed not to.'_

' _That was a divine dragon, wasn't it?'_ Tiki asked.

' _Indeed…though it should not be possible…'_ the voice, which belonged to Naga the Divine Dragon, replied. _'All of my kin left the world of men a long time ago and I do not know of any that would have made the choice to stay.'_

' _Other than myself, you mean,'_ Tiki said, slightly bitterly.

' _Tiki…you know why I did what I did…'_

Naga's daughter sighed. _'Yes…I know…I'm sorry; you did it for my sake so I shouldn't be complaining about it.'_ Tiki then went silent for a moment before continuing. _'Maybe…maybe it was my big brother? The presence did feel…familiar somehow.'_ A hint of longing crept into her thoughts then.

' _That too is impossible,'_ Naga replied, sadness now tinging her thoughts. _'Your brother died a long time ago during his battle with Grima.'_

' _But you said that you never saw him fall!'_ Tiki argued.

' _Tiki…you know as well as I do how much your brother loved you,'_ Naga pointed out. _'If he had survived, he would have made sure to let you know.'_ The divine dragon let her words sink in for a moment before continuing. _'No, whoever that presence was it has to have been a hitherto unknown dragon, possibly one from another tribe.'_

' _But you agreed with me that it was a divine dragon!'_

' _I said POSSIBLY from another tribe,'_ Naga gently reminded Tiki. ' _I do agree that it was most likely a divine dragon, I'm just keeping an open mind.'_

Tiki was silent for a moment before coming to a decision. _'Either way, I should go an investigate this.'_

' _Why?'_

' _Because whoever it was has enough power to be felt by BOTH of us, from what I can only imagine was quite some distance away,'_ Tiki reasoned. _'Any dragon of that power may be of some aid to those who stand against Grima.'_

' _And you hope to recruit them to my Chosens' cause?'_

' _That or at the very least find out who it is,'_ Tiki replied. _'I'm sure that you are also as curious as I am, mother.'_

' _I will admit to some curiosity…'_ Naga sighed. _'Very well, do what you must, but be careful.'_

 _I will mother. Thank you for trusting in my decision.'_

' _You know I always will…my beloved daughter…'_

With that, Tiki cut off her connection with her mother and strode towards the edge of the Mila Tree. Taking out a dragonstone, she transformed into her draconic form and spread her wings, leaping into flight a moment later.

' _Now…where are you, mysterious dragon?'_

()()()()()()()()

'Tell me about your village, Donnel,' Robin asked of the pot wearing boy who was riding awkwardly on a borrowed horse beside her.

'Oh well, not much ta say, ma'am,' Donnel replied. 'Jus' spent our days tendin' to our crops and animals…yeah, that's about it.'

'Sounds pretty peaceful,' the tactician mused.

Donnel smiled. 'It has its moments that's fer sure, but for the most part I'd hafta agree!' A sad look appeared on the boy's face. 'Least it was till that dastard Roddick showed up…'

'Don't worry, we'll soon have them out of your hair,' Robin assured him. She nodded her head towards the two manaketes that were flying above them. 'After all, those two are probably armies in their own rights. Raye certainly is anyway.'

'Never thought I'd ever meet ONE manakete, know I've met two of 'em!' Donnel remarked, looking in awe once again at the sight of the airborne dragons. The boy had done that several times during the trip already.

After Donnel had succeeded in recruiting the Shepherds' assistance, the Ylisseans had wasted no time in moving out. Once again though, Maribelle had stayed behind, her father needing her help with her family's business, while Ricken had elected to also stay behind. Well…he had more been recruited by the surviving ladies of Rielet to show them around Ylisstol after they had finally been discharged from the city hospital, but judging from the nervous smile he had on his face the young mage certainly didn't mind. Stahl on the other hand was finally rejoining the Shepherds, although Kari had insisted on a goodbye hug from the green knight before he had left.

They had now been on the road for nearly a day and were making quick progress. Donnel predicted that they would arrive at his village within the next few hours, so the Shepherds had begun checking their weapons, and in the case of Vaike, making sure that they actually had them.

'See, told ya I wouldn't forget my axe this time around!' Vaike crowed victoriously as he brandished his axe.

Chrom shook his head at his friend's outburst before facing the front again. He then noticed the wisps of smoke that were rising into the air some distance away.

'Frederick…' he said and the knight nodded.

'I see it, milord,' he replied.

Chrom turned back to the Shepherds. 'Shepherds, double time!'

At his words, the Ylisseans urged their horses into gallops and they charged towards the source of the smoke. Overhead Raye and Sahria were also angling down towards the smoke.

As they burst out from the trees, the Shepherds saw to their horror the charred remains of a village, which they quickly realised was Donnel's judging from his reaction when he saw what was waiting for him.

'No…those dastards…!' the boy breathed, tears appearing in his eyes as he sank to his knees. 'They've gon' and burnt my village to the ground!'

The Shepherds looked around when as a man cried out. 'DONNEL!'

Donnel turned around and a relieved smile crossed his face as he raced forward to hug the other man, an older gentleman with wispy brown hair. 'PA! I'm glad ta see that yer alive!' He then looked around. 'Where's ma?'

Donnel's father looked sadly down at his son. 'The bandits 'ave taken all the women and holed up in the Farfort!'

'Dastards…' Donnel growled, a look of steel appearing momentarily in his young eyes. 'Don' worry, pa, me and the Shepherds are gonna go and get ma and the others back!'

'Shepherds…?' Donnel's father then noticed Chrom and his forces, as well as the two rather large dragons further behind them. 'You managed to get help?'

'Yeah, and they've got two humungous dragon folk with 'em!' Donnel replied happily, pointing in the manaketes' direction.

'I can see tha'!' the older man nodded. He then turned and bowed to the prince. 'I thank yer, your highness, fer comin' to our aid!'

'It's no problem, trust me,' Chrom said, waving away the man's gratitude. 'Roddick has been a thorn in the Halidom's side for years; I'll feel more comfortable once we've gotten rid of him.' He then gestured for the Shepherds to follow him. 'Come on, let's get to the Farfort! Raye, Sahria, it would probably be best for you two to change back into your human forms; don't want to alert the bandits to our presence just yet.'

As the two manaketes changed back, Donnel quickly ran after the Shepherds as they made their way to the Farfort.

'Wait, your highness!' he cried. 'Take me with ya!'

Chrom looked uncertainly at the young man. 'It might be better for you to stay behind, Donnel.'

The young man firmly shook his head. 'Nah, I want ta help! It's me ma's life on the line, and I want to make sure that I'm there to rescue her!'

'Can you fight?' Chrom asked doubtfully.

'Not…exactly….but jus' show me where to stick 'em and I'll get it done!' Donnel replied determinedly.

Chrom sighed. 'Do you even have a weapon?'

Donnel looked around before snapping off a long, thick branch. 'Now I do!'

'It's…it's a branch!' the prince protested.

Donnel grinned. 'Hit anyone over the head hard enough, even a branch can be a pretty darn good weapon!'

Robin smiled. 'He has a point, Chrom.' When the prince looked at her disbelievingly, the tactician shrugged. 'Oh, let him come along! It's clear that he'd follow us anyway, even if you said no.' Donnel nodded at her words. 'What's the harm in it? Extra hands make light work, after all!'

'And if you're that concerned about his well-being, then Donnel can join Kellam and I,' Yana spoke up. 'That way I'll be able to look after him.'

'Kellam…?' Chrom started, squinting once again at the mention of the 'invisible' knight. 'Dammit, man, you should have said that you were here!'

Yana rolled her eyes as Kellam sighed. 'He's been here from the beginning, you dolt!'

'Sure…fine, fine!' Chrom sighed in defeat. 'As long as you take care of him then I guess he can come along!'

Donnel cheered and gratefully nodded at Yana, who smiled back at him.

Robin then took that moment to group up the Shepherds again; Sumia would be paired up with Miriel for this battle, Virion with Sully this time, Stahl with Vaike, Lon'qu with Frederick, the two manaketes together, Kellam, Yana and Donnel, and herself, Chrom and Lissa as the last group.

'Right, anything you can tell me about the Farfort, Chrom?' Robin asked now that the groups had been sorted out.

'Used to be one of our more defensible forts back during the wars with Plegia,' Chrom replied, frowning as he tried to remember anything useful. 'I heard that it was never once conquered, but now that that war is long over it's gone into some disrepair.'

'I take it that the walls will be crumbled and weakened then?' Robin asked.

Donnel was the one to answer her question. 'The fort's weak in some place, ma'am, but enough of the walls are still standin' that it's still an imposin' place. Used to explore the fort when I was a kid, it's how I know.'

'Hmm…we should perhaps avoid a frontal assault in that case,' Robin mused. 'Donnel, are there any particular places that you remember being particularly weak?'

The villager thought for a moment before nodding. 'Yeah, the east side of the fort's so crumbled that I reckon even yer dragon folk could fit through it in their scary forms.'

'Then that's where we'll assault,' Robin declared. 'I suggest that Frederick and Stahl's teams take the front and clear the way while Sumia and Miriel attack them from the air. Sully, you and Virion will be attacking as a distraction; hopefully Virion's arrows will draw some of them off. If they do, Kellam, Yana and Donnel will back them up. Raye and Sahria…well, just cause as much chaos as you can. As for us, Chrom and Lissa, we'll be supporting the main group.' She looked around at the Shepherds. 'Are we all agreed on the plan?'

'Sound's good,' Sully nodded.

'My lady, I am sure that your strategy will not fail us!' Virion supplied gallantly.

'As long I get to roast bad guys, I'm cool with whatever,' Sahria piped up, causing Raye to sigh.

Chrom sighed. 'Fairly certain that means that we're all in agreement.' He then drew Falchion and pointed at the Longfort. 'Alright Shepherds, get into position and at my signal begin the attack!'

()()()()()()()()

Ox was enjoying a particularly long urination when an arrow came out of nowhere and struck him in the knee. As the bandit yelled out in pain, a mounted knight came charging out of nowhere and cut his head off as he went past.

In one smooth motion, the lean man that had been sitting behind the knight jumped off and landed in a crouch just behind another pair of nearby bandits. He stayed in that position for a moment before straightening as the two bodies fell to the ground, heads rolling clear as they hit the dirt.

'Huh…that actually _does_ work…' Lon'qu mumbled to himself before smiling slightly to himself. 'Nice…'

He looked around when Stahl and Vaike arrived, the fighter jumping off of the knight's horse and joining the myrmidon on the ground.

'Heh, nice moves, but now it's time for class 'cos the Vaike has entered the building!' the muscle-brained man announced in a loud voice.

'Just don't go too crazy, Vaike,' Frederick said sternly as he pulled up his horse next to the three. 'And remember; there are hostages here.'

'Leave 'em to us, Fred!' Vaike replied, clapping Lon'qu on the back. 'The Vaike and this guy'll get those fine ladies outta here!'

'Don not hit me…' Lon'qu muttered.

They all turned around as Robin, Chrom and Lissa caught up with him.

'Okay, so there might have been less bandits than I thought,' Chrom remarked.

'These were probably just sentries, Chrom,' Robin pointed out. 'The majority of them are probably deeper inside.'

As she spoke, dragon Sahria landed on the other side of the wall and poked her head into the hole so that she could speak to the others.

' _Hey, just thought you'd like to know that the rest of the bandits are being dealt with,'_ the young manakete reported. _'Donny's group has wiped out a fair number of them already and my master is tearing apart the west side of the fort; he said that he sensed some women in that part of it.'_

'Well, that makes our task a little easier,' Chrom said with relief. 'Though I hope that Raye doesn't scare those women to death.'

The Shepherds then turned as a group of fifteen bandits came rushing towards them, shouting in anger.

As the bandits reached them, the Shepherds crossed weapons with them and a short melee ensued. Robin and Chrom combined to eliminate three, the tactician electrocuting two of them before they reached the prince while Chrom blocked and parried the attacks the bandit aimed at him before ducking under a horizontal strike aimed at his neck and, with an upward thrust, pierced the man through the chest.

Lon'qu looked calmly around at the four bandits that surrounded him. As the men leapt towards him the Feroxi swordsman somersaulted into the air and, when he was above them, spun so that he decapitated all four bandits in one circular strike.

Vaike on the other hand merely kept smashing his axe against his two opponents until he broke through their defences and caved their heads in.

'Ha, beat that, Chrom!' he crowed smugly. He was then tackled to the ground by Lon'qu as the swordsman saved him from an arrow to the head.

'Don't get distracted,' the Feroxi growled. 'I won't save you next time.'

'Bah, the Vaike woulda eaten that arrow up for breakfast!'

As the swordsman sighed, Frederick and Stahl combined to finish off the rest of the bandits. One tried to flee past them only to be cower back as Sahria, who had crawled through the large hole in the wall, snapped him up in her jaws and with a crunch ate the man whole.

' _Huh…that was kinda gross…'_ she commented with a frown. _'Remind me never to do that again.'_

She then stormed towards the two archers that were seriously considering their life choices at that moment and breathed fire on them, their agonized screams thankfully being cut short when the manakete stamped on them until they fell quiet.

As Sahria sniffed the burnt corpses curiously, Chrom and the others to stock of the situation.

'Anyone wounded?' the prince asked, looking around at his companions.

Seeing that Shepherds had managed to pull through with nothing more than some small scratches, he led the way deeper into the fort. A little way down a corridor, they met up with Donnel, Yana and Kellam.

'How are you guys holding up?' Chrom asked as they reached them.

'Not a scratch on us,' Yana smiled, hugging Lissa when the smaller girl threw her arms around her.

'Only 'cos Lady Yana did some tricky magic stuff!' Donnel spoke up, looking at the cleric with a great amount of respect and a little bit of awe.

Yana blushed at the young man's praise. 'Well, you also helped a lot, Donnel,' she replied. 'He killed at least four of the bandits himself, Chrom! I think we've got ourselves a hero in the making here!'

'Aw, shucks, Lady Yana…' the villager mumbled, looking down at his feet and shuffling them in embarrassment. 'Ya don't have to say tha'...Sir Kellam also helped…'

'I only did my duty…but you guys can't hear me, so whatever…' the knight sighed.

Yana sympathetically touched Kellam's armoured arm. 'I still appreciate it, Sir Kellam. Thank you for your hard work.'

'Yes, thank you for looking after them, Kellam,' Chrom said, squinting at the location that he assumed Kellam was standing. He then looked up as the large form of Raye burst out of the fort some distance away.

The Shepherds all instinctively ducked as a wave of power washed over them before a blinding light burst from the hovering dragon. Once again the three Exalted members of the group felt their marks grow warm, Robin's itching as well. A moment later the central part of the fort disintegrated as pillars of golden fire consumed it utterly.

With the destruction of the fort, Raye then winged his way towards the group and landed a few feet away from them. As the dust of his landing settled, the Shepherds saw to their relief that the manakete had rescued the captive village women before destroying the fort. Donnel was even more relieved when he saw that one of them was his mother.

'MA!' the young man shouted, sprinting forwards and hugging the woman fiercely once she had slid down Raye's wing and onto the ground.

'DONNEl!' the woman exclaimed, embracing her son tearfully. 'I thought I'd never see you again!'

'It's alright, ma, we promised pa that we'd rescue you and the others and we did!' Donnel lifter his head and smiled gratefully up at the manakete who, now that the rest of his passengers had also descended to the ground, had straightened and shuffled his wings.

' _Think nothing of it, Donnel,'_ the manakete replied dismissively. _'It was a group effort.'_

' _Aw, come on master!'_ Sahria said cheerfully, hopping over to Raye and affectionately rubbing her snout against his flanks. _'You should learn to bask in the praise of others a little bit.'_

' _I think I'll leave that to the younger members of our party,'_ the older manakete grunted. _'I'm too old to really care about the satisfaction of job well done anymore.'_

' _Don't lie; you secretly love the attention, don'tcha?'_

' _No, I do not, now leave me alone!'_ Raye snapped, though the others saw the slight smile on his dragon face that he quickly covered up by coughing slightly.

Chrom chuckled. 'In any case, we should probably leave now and get these ladies back home to safety.'

The Shepherds nodded in agreement and soon began the journey back to the remains of Donnel's village. Behind them, the remains of the fort suddenly exploded, debris raining down but thankfully missing the Shepherds as they all turned to stare at Raye, who along with Sahria had returned to his human form. Those that looked back at the Farfort saw that only a huge crater was left where the once proud fort had stood.

'What?' the manakete shrugged. Raising an eyebrow at the looks that he received, he sighed. 'Alright, fine…I might have gotten a little carried away.' As Yana frowned at him, he grunted with annoyance. 'Okay, I promise not to use that particular spell near anyone we like! You happy?'

'What exactly was that?' Miriel asked curiously.

'Oh, just a little spell I came up with a few centuries ago. Used it to get rid of an annoying mountain that was ruining the view of where I wanted to live.'

Before Miriel could speak, Chrom cut her off, already knowing what the mage was about to ask.

'Raye, for the sake of my sanity, please never teach ANYONE that spell.'

()()()()()()()()

'What will you do know?' Chrom asked Donnel's father as the two men looked over the burnt remains of the raided village.

'Eh, we'll most likely all go our separate ways, your highness,' the village man shrugged. Seeing the concerned look on the prince's face, the man chuckled. 'Don' worry 'bout us, your highness; livin' out here one has ta always be prepared for this sorta thing.'

'Still…I wish there was some way we could help you…'

Donnel's father snorted. 'Ya already have, more than anyone has in a long time. Wipin' out Roddick and his bandits hasn't jus' helped us, it's also helped all those that live in the area.' He held out a hand to the prince, who shook it without hesitation. 'If we're talkin' about wishes, I wish there was some way we could repay ya, but well…'

Chrom smiled. 'There wouldn't have been any need to do that anyway, even if you're village had survived.'

The village man studied the prince. 'Ya know…whatever other people might think, you ain't your father,' he eventually said.

These words made Chrom silent for a moment before he grinned broadly and clapped a hand on the other man's shoulder. 'Thanks, I think I need to be reminded of that every so often,' he said gratefully. 'I will admit; I have always worried that some of my actions might make people think otherwise.'

'Well, you tell those people that I, and the rest of the people here, will always see you as YOU,' Donnel's father assured him firmly. 'The father don't make the son, after all.'

'Heh, you should become a member of my council,' Chrom joked.

'Ah, I fear that I would probably find that sorta stuff insufferable,' Donnel's father chuckled. 'Beggin' yer pardon, your highness, but most people in these parts don't think much of nobles generally.'

'I certainly understand that, believe me.'

As the two men laughed, Donnel rushed up to them, bowing to Chrom.

'Yes, Donnel?' the prince asked.

The younger man looked up, a hopeful look on his face. 'Please, your highness…take me with you!' he blurted out, catching Chrom off guard at the suddenness of his request.

'Er…well…I don't know if your parents would want that…' he said cautiously, looking at Donnel's father. Much to his surprise, the man was smiling.

Seeing the look, the man shrugged. 'Donnel's a man now, your highness; if he wants to go, let him accompany ya and your Shepherds.' He gestured sadly at the smouldering ruins behind them. 'Gods know that we can't really look after him for a while.'

'But…I thought that you said that people around here were always prepared for this sort of thing!'

'Doesn't mean that our kids have to be, your highness,' Donnel's father replied. 'If I'm gonna be honest…I always wanted Donny to have a better life than that of a farmer. Don't get me wrong, I loved having him around here, and he might've seemed like he was enjoyin' the farmer's life, but I could see that he was gettin' restless over the years.' He chuckled. 'The fact that he knew all that he did about the Farfort…I knew he tended to go explorin' there every so often, so I wasn't all that surprised when he offered to go with you to rescue his ma and the others.' He went to stand behind his son and put his hands on his shoulders. 'Truth be told, I'm proud of him and would appreciate it if you saw it good enough to train him up.'

Chrom was silent for a moment as he considered the surprisingly passionate words of Donnel's father. He then slowly nodded before smiling.

'If that's what you really want, then how about this; I officially conscript Donnel into the Ylissean army and put him under my command? That way, people won't think too much about it.' He looked slightly sternly at Donnel then, though he still smiled. 'You will have to train hard, you understand?'

Yes sir, I understand and I'm ready fer whatever you have for me!' Donnel replied immediately, adjusting the pot on his head and awkwardly saluting.

'Very well then…Donnel, welcome to the Shepherds!'

()()()()()()()()

 _And so, dear friends, the end of another chapter is upon us._

 _It occurred to me while I was writing this chapter that I never really explained why Yana is the only one who is able easily see and interact with Kellam. Simple answer; magic. Long answer, it's due to her abilities (i.e magic) that her eyes see that which is hidden from others. In all honesty though, it's really due to the fact that I was always a little sad about Kellam's ending and wanted him to have a more positive experience. And no, as much as I'd like it, this doesn't mean that Kellam is going to be paired with Yana. They'll develop a close working relationship over the course of the story, nothing more. Kellam's wife will be one of the regular Shepherds, while Yana's…well, I shall indulge a moment of coyness, if it's all the same to you._

 _Also, the first (slightly) big difference from the game has taken place; Tiki is coming. I really hope that Raye is prepared for a sister who misses her brother terribly._

 _Finally, I'd like to thank you for sticking with this for as long as you have. Feelings of appreciation being sent your way!_

 _Ciao for now!_


	11. Interlude Chapter Two

_I hope that this Interlude Chapter isn't too soon, but since the last one amused me greatly, and you as well hopefully, I thought I might write this one up now. I'm going to be experimenting with the layout of these Interlude Chapters, this one involving more characters than the standard two. I always thought that a lot of the supports in the base game would have been much more entertaining if there had been at least one more person involved, so here's the result of that. Enjoy!_

()()()()()()()()

-Interlude Chapter Two- Barracks Downtime Part One- Beginnings of War and a Mage's Thirst-

 **-Disputed Council-**

On the return to Ylisstol, Chrom and the others found the capitol in a state of panic. When Chrom caught one of the guards by the arm and demanded to know what was going on, the man hurriedly told them that Maribelle's father had just arrived bringing news that a large group of Plegians had attacked their family's lands. Luckily, Maribelle and her family had managed to escape and even now the young noblewoman was apparently throwing a fit at the Shepherds' barracks.

Hearing this, Lissa immediately ran to check up on her friend, with Yana in tow, while Chrom, Frederick and Robin went to see Emmeryn.

'Emm, I heard the news!' Chrom cried as he barged into the council chambers, having been told his sister's location by the guard. 'Is Duke Themis alright…oh, I see that you are…' He trailed off when he saw a large, blonde man standing next to Emmeryn.

Emmeryn looked relieved at Chrom's arrival. 'Yes, he is, brother and I am certainly glad that you've arrived.'

'Do we have any idea where those Plegian dastards went after the attack?' Chrom asked.

At his words, several of the nobles frowned angrily at Robin.

'Why don't we ask the spy?' one of them demanded, pointing an accusing finger at the tactician.

'Yes…oddly convenient how the Shepherds were needed to deal with a 'bandit' attack just before a Plegian force decided to attack one of our most prominent noble families!' another muttered hotly.

A matching look of anger crossed Chrom's face, though his was aimed at the nobles, and he moved to stand protectively next to Robin, Frederick surprisingly doing the same.

'Stop those thoughts right now!' the prince demanded. 'Robin was not responsible for the attack on Donnel's village! As for the timing, there are such things as _coincidences_!' He put a hand on Robin's shoulder. 'I trust Robin with my life, just as if she had been a Shepherd for years, and I'd appreciate it if you stopped questioning her character! She may be Plegian, but she is not PLEGIAN!'

At his outburst, one noble scoffed before looking at Frederick. 'What say you, Sir Frederick? Are you foolish enough to believe that spy's convenient story about amnesia, which is still very much suspect?'

All eyes turned to the great knight, who was silent for a moment before replying.

'I will admit, at first I felt the same way as of all of you…' he began, but held up a hand when he saw the triumphant looks on the nobles' faces. 'BUT…in the few weeks that I've travelled alongside her, she hasn't done anything even remotely suspicious. Indeed, she goes out of her way to make sure that the Shepherds do not suffer during, and after, battle and has already become firm friends with Lord Chrom and Lady Lissa.'

'But that could be her plan!' a noble protested. 'What better way to worm your way into the royal family than to make them feel sorry for you and then befriend them! She is in a perfect position to betray all of us!'

Before Chrom could retort, Emmeryn cleared her throat loudly and all those present switched their attentions to her.

'Lord Meriwether…do you trust me?' she asked simply.

The lord gaped at her. 'Of course, my lady! You have led the country through harsh times with as much grace as you could and the Halidom has prospered because of your efforts!'

'Then trust me know when I say that I too trust Lady Robin.' The Exalt looked at all of them individually. 'My brother is right; though she may be of Plegia, I do not believe that one's country of origins should define them, rather how they ACT is how they should be viewed by the world.' She then turned to Chrom. 'Chrom, please reiterate for everyone here: has Lady Robin acted, in any way, that would make you concerned for the safety of yourself, Lissa, or the Halidom of Ylisse as a whole?'

'No, she hasn't,' Chrom replied immediately.

Emmeryn nodded and then turned to Frederick. 'And do you agree, even though we already know that you do?' When the knight nodded in confirmation, the Exalt faced the nobles. 'There you go; three of the most trusted people of the Halidom all vouch for her. Why don't you also give her a chance to prove herself?'

'I would also like to say, though I have never met her before, that if she is a Shepherd then that is a good indicator of her character' Duke Themis spoke up, surprising everyone there. 'You have all trusted Prince Chrom with making the right decisions in regards to the recruiting of the Shepherds thus far; what's one more, despite her possible origins?'

'But Duke Themis…you of all people…'

'I did not see Lady Robin amongst the forces of the Plegians that attacked my home,' the duke cut the other noble off sternly. 'Or are you suggesting that ALL Plegians, even the innocent men, women and CHILDREN, are guilty of that attack?'

There was an awkward silence before a noble hesitantly said, 'Well…no…'

'Then don't blame someone who wasn't even involved,' the duke pointed out. 'Rather, direct your anger towards who WAS to blame for it.'

The duke's final words finally managed to silence the nobles who had spoken up against Robin, though Chrom could still see a few slight looks of resentment being directed at his tactician as they all returned their attention to what had happened to the Duke Themis's property.

'So…we really have no idea where they went?' Chrom repeated his earlier question, steering the attention away from Robin.

'Correct, Prince Chrom,' Duke Themis nodded as he pointed at a map that showed the boundaries of his land. 'As far as I know, the Plegians arrived from the west a few hours ago and then cut a path straight across my lands.'

'Well, that doesn't help us…' Chrom mused as he also studied the map.

'I've already sent some pegasus knights to search from the air, but I doubt they'll find anything,' Phila said then. 'Especially if the dastards have some mages with them; the Plegians have always been good at magical concealments.'

'That they have…I don't suppose we could have those manaketes of yours assist Captain Phila's knights, Prince Chrom?' Duke Themis asked.

'I know one of them would definitely assist you, Duke Themis,' Chrom replied, referring to Sahria. 'I can ask her, but I think that the decision would ultimately be Raye's.'

'I'm sure that he would agree to it, Chrom,' Yana assured her brother. 'I mean, he's got every reason to hate the Plegians now as much as the next person.'

'We should also make sure to tighten the watch around the capitol, just to be on the safe side,' Phila pointed out.

'We could send either Raye or Sahria out to help the knights, while the other one stays here to protect Ylisstol,' Robin spoke up then, the first words she had contributed since arriving. She had kept quiet, trying not to rouse the ire of the nobles again, only deciding to speak up now because she could see that it would be slightly risky to send both of the powerful warriors to search for the Plegians.

'Good idea, Robin,' Chrom said, looking pointedly at the nobles. 'I'd say send Sahria out to help search; Raye, being the strongest of the two, should be the one to remain and protect the capitol in the meantime.' The prince looked around the room at his sister and the gathered nobles. 'Can we agree on this course of action?'

Emmeryn nodded. 'That seems the most agreeable plan at the moment, Chrom. In the meantime I'll try to reach out to Gangrel and see if he can explain the actions of these Plegians.'

Chrom sighed. 'I doubt that he'll admit anything, sis, but I guess it doesn't hurt trying.'

'All part of the game of diplomacy, brother,' the Exalt smiled, understanding Chrom's doubt. She then nodded to all those present. 'You are now dismissed. Please remember to report any further developments on our current situation to either Phila or myself if they occur.'

With that, the nobles and Chrom saluted and filed out of the room, though the nobles noticeably avoided looking at the prince and his companions.

Once the door was shut behind them and the nobles were out of sight, Robin gently ouched Chrom's arm. The prince looked down at the touch and saw a small smile on the tactician's face.

'Thank you, Chrom, for supporting me in there,' she said, also turning to look up at Frederick. 'Same to you as well, Frederick.' She chuckled. 'Though I must admit that I was very surprised to see and hear you leap to my defence.'

The great knight shrugged. 'I was being honest; you truly have done nothing untoward during your time with the Shepherds.' He then looked down at her sternly. 'Of course, should you betray us, I will be there to punish you!'

'I'm glad you care either way, Frederick,' Robin replied, slightly sarcastically but still with a smile on her face.

Chrom was glad to see his old friend and new tactician seemingly burying the hatchet of mistrust for the time being. He then turned to speak to Yana.

'By the way, any idea where those two manaketes went?' he asked.

 **-Miriel Madness-**

The answer to Chrom's question was one that may have surprised him; at that moment, Raye and Sahria were hiding from a certain bespeckled mage. Miriel, her curiosity about Raye having reached almost fever-pitch after his display at Arena Ferox, had had it double after witnessing Sahria's magical skills and own dragon transformation. All through the trip back to Ylisstol from Ferox, the mage had bombarded both manaketes with questions, both trivial and personal, and on the return journey from Donnel's village had even requested that she be allowed to take a scale or two from one of them.

After Chrom had left to see his sister when they had arrived back at Ylisstol for the second time, the mage had quickly cornered the two manaketes with a glint in her eyes that, quite frankly, terrified both of them. As soon as she brought out a menacing-looking magical tool that looked more like a torture device, Raye and Sahria had immediately fled for their lives.

'Is…is she gone, master?' Sahria whimpered, cowering behind the older and, conveniently for her, taller manakete as they hid in a darkened alley.

'Naga, I hope so!' Raye muttered, as he stole a look around the corner. He then ducked down when he saw the tell-tale sign of Miriel's large pointed hat weaving its way through the crowds. 'Crap, don't say a word!'

Unfortunately, Miriel immediately noticed the movement when Raye ducked his head back and made a beeline for the alley the two manaketes were taking cover in, finding them cowering behind and wooden crate.

'Really, this will go much smoother if you just resign yourself to my study!' she said sternly, looking down at them over the top of her glasses. 'You are both behaving most infantile!'

'Forget that, we're outta here!' Sahria panicked and bulldozed past Miriel, knocking the mage to the side and making an opening for both her and Raye to flee past.

As the mage steadied herself, she readjusted her glasses and smiled dangerously to herself.

' _Oh, this is not over!'_ she thought to herself even as she began to give chase. ' _I will satisfy my thirst for knowledge whether both of you like it or not!'_

 **-Tea time requests-**

Meanwhile, Lissa was enjoying a cup of tea with Maribelle. She had found her friend sitting alone in the eating hall of the Shepherds' barracks once she'd rushed there after hearing news of the attack on the Themis family. Relieved to see that her friend was perfectly fine, albeit in a very foul mood, the princess had wasted no time in trying to calm the noble.

'I must say, I am relieved that you returned safely from dealing with those horrid bandits, darling,' Maribelle was now saying. Lissa had just finished telling her about the events involving Donnel's village.

'Yeah, I just wish that we could've got there sooner,' Lissa sighed sadly. 'We might have been able to save more people, maybe even the village itself.'

'Take victories where you can, dear,' Maribelle replied sagely. 'For instance, I am simply counting it a victory that my family and I managed to escape with our lives.' A dark look crossed the elegant noble's face then. 'Although the loss of lives of some of my father's employees does grate somewhat; more lives needlessly lost in this pointless war.'

'It's not a war yet, Belle,' Lissa pointed out, though with little conviction. 'But I guess at this point it's practically there.'

They both looked around when Chrom, Frederick and Robin walked into the hall.

'Chrom, how did your meeting with Emm go?' Lissa asked, waving them over. She then looked past the trio. 'Where's Yana?'

'Yana said that she wanted to go speak with Mother Lydia at the Temple of Naga for a while,' Lissa's brother replied, taking a seat next to Lissa. 'As for my meeting, I may have annoyed several nobles when I defended Robin against their accusations.'

'What? Why would people…oh…cos she's Plegian…' Lissa looked sympathetically at the tactician once she realised the reason for Chrom's words. 'Eh, don't worry about it, Robin; who cares what those idiots think anyway?'

'A fair amount of people actually, darling,' Maribelle commented. At the eyebrows that were raised in her direction, she went red in the face and said, 'I mean…not that I have a problem with you anymore, comm…er…Robin; I had time to think upon our first meeting and came to the conclusion that I may have been…ever so slightly judgemental with my words to you…'

Lissa looked at her friend, impressed. 'Wow, Maribelle, this must be the first time I've ever heard you apologise to a 'commoner'; what gives?'

Maribelle raised her head with dignity. 'I am fully capable of being agreeable!' she declared. 'Do not think me some base-born child who is too stubborn to admit that they were wrong!'

'Well, it's a start I suppose,' Lissa sighed. She then grinned. 'Be honoured, Robin; you may very well be the reason for our resident ice queen beginning to thaw!'

As the others laughed at the blush that appeared on Maribelle's cheeks, Chrom noticed Raye and Sahria cautiously slink into the hall.

'Hey, there you two are!' Chrom called, making the manakete's jump. He frowned. 'What's up?'

'Er…you haven't seen Miriel around here, have you?' Raye asked nervously.

'No…why?'

Breathing a sigh of relief at the prince's words, Raye and Sahria came over and joined the already large crowd at the table.

'Your mage seems to have taken it upon herself to unlock the secrets of the manaketes in a rather…painful way,' Raye explained as he sat down next to Maribelle, which caused the noble to edge slightly away from him though he seemed not to notice. 'Can you talk to her about it, Chrom?'

'Aren't you a scary dragon though?' Chrom replied in amusement.

'You didn't see the instrument she waved in our faces…' Raye said darkly, his words making Sahria shiver slightly at his side. 'Are you sure she's not actually you're torturer?'

Chrom laughed. 'No, but if she can make two powerful manaketes quake in their scales then I might consider giving her that job!'

'Please…don't ever mention the word 'scales' around her…' Sahria pleaded.

'Er…okay…anyway, it's a good thing that you're both here,' the prince said, giving the young manakete an odd look. 'The Plegians attacked Maribelle's family's estate and have since disappeared somewhere in the Halidom; I was wondering if one of you might be willing to assist Phila's pegasus knights in their search for them?'

'Oh, I'll go!' Sahria quickly replied before Raye could say anything. 'I want to see what the Halidom's like and if I get to have a fight at the same time then all the better!'

'You just want to get as far away from Miriel, don't you?' Lissa giggled, Sahria blushing slightly at the princess's words and confirming them.

'As long as you find some evidence of the Plegians' movements, I don't really mind your reason for going,' Chrom sighed.

'Awesome, when should I leave?' Sahria asked, ignoring the glares that Raye sent her way. 'I can leave as soon as you need me to!'

'Er…as soon as possible, I guess?'

The young manakete jumped up at these words. 'Right, guess I'll leave now then!' She paused to affectionately rub her nose against Raye's before quickly leaving, waving over her shoulder. 'By, master, don't get murdered by Miriel while I'm gone!'

'Yeah, whatever!' Raye snapped back at her, unable to think of a witting comeback. He then noticed the strange looks that the others were giving him. 'What?'

'She…rubbed her nose against yours…' Lissa commented slowly.

'So? That's how manaketes show affection or respect, especially a hatchling to an elder.'

'Yeah, but…to us humans it just looks a little strange…'

Raye raised an eyebrow, which seemed to be one of his favourite facial expressions. 'And to us manaketes, many things you humans do is stranger still. For instance, your own odd way of showing affection; if one likes another, why do you not just tell them?'

'It's…well, it's sort of like a game I suppose…' Lissa replied hesitantly. 'I mean…half of the fun of liking someone is figuring out whether or not your feelings are reciprocated.'

'But it's very inconsiderate, don't you think?' Raye pointed out. 'If the object of your affection shares the same feelings towards you, would it not be more productive if you just told them in the first place? It would mean that you would have more time together and more memories to create.'

Lissa was silent for a moment as she considered his words. 'You know…you do kind of have a point…' she admitted grudgingly after a moment. She then scrutinized the manakete sitting across from her. 'What about you then; you ever been in that situation?'

'No, and I don't imagine I ever will,' Raye replied dismissively. '

Just as Lissa was about to ask him what he meant by that, she was interrupted by the sudden arrival of Miriel, the mage looming suddenly behind Raye and causing the manakete to jump with fright.

'Foooound yooou…' the bespeckled mage cackled, slightly dementedly.

'Oh, Naga…!' Raye swore and bolted out of the eating hall, nearly knocking over the table in his haste to get away from the mage who tore after him.

Those left behind laughed as they watched the mage chase Raye out of the room, accompanied by cries of protestation from the formerly intimidating manakete.

 **-Holy words and a young mage's 'slight' crush-**

'Mother Lydia, I was hoping that you could spare a moment to talk?' Yana said, after spotting the elderly woman and making her way over to her.

'Of course, Princess Yana, I always have time to speak to one of the exalted,' the mother replied, smiling warmly at the young cleric.

'Oh…so you heard about that, huh?' Yana said, embarrassed.

Mother Lydia chuckled. 'My dear, I think the whole Halidom might know by now; it may have only been a few days, but it seems that there are quite a few loose lips amongst the ranks of the palace guard.'

Yana frowned. 'I feel like Chrom might need to hear about that…we haven't even really made any plans to announce my identity to the populace yet.' She sighed. 'And, if I can be perfectly honest, I hope to put that off as long as I can.'

'Why?' Mother Lydia asked curiously. 'Are you not happy being part of the Exalted family?'

'No, it's just…I don't know if I'm ready to be a princess,' Yana replied unhappily. 'Don't get me wrong, I already love my new found family, it's just that I've been a cleric for almost half my life…being a princess, with all of the responsibility and the power…I don't know if I can handle that.'

Mother Lydia gave Yana a sympathetic look. 'My dear, no one is ever prepared to receive power, especially out of the blue like you have. My advice to you is this: _ask_ for advice; your family will assist you in any way, I'm sure.'

'I suppose…' Yana replied uncertainly. 'Lissa certainly has gone out of her way to make me feel wanted, and Chrom and Emmeryn already feel like guides to some extent for me…' Chrom's twin smiled then. 'Yes, I think you're right, Mother Lydia; I have all the help I need if things get too distressing for me. Thank you.'

'I live to give out sound advice, your highness,' the mother bowed her head, causing Yana to grimace.

'Please, Mother Lydia, just call me Yana,' she requested quickly. 'I think that being constantly called 'princess' will make me relapse somewhat.'

Mother Lydia smiled. 'As you wish…Yana.'

Yana then moved on to another subject. 'How are Verity and Lilah doing, by the way? Before I left to help Chrom with a bandit attack those two mentioned that they would be coming here to give thanks to Naga for surviving the attack on Rielet.'

'Ah, yes, the nervous young brunette and the…buxom red head, yes?' Yana nodded and the mother smiled, gesturing in the direction of a nearby staircase. 'I believe that they are currently resting in one of the upstairs reading rooms, along with that charming young Shepherd mage.'

Yana thanked Mother Lydia and made her way upstairs. Sure enough, in the second room that she looked she found Verity and Lilah, along with Ricken, inside reading. The two clerics looked up when Yana entered and a smile broke out on Lilah's face.

'Yana, tis good to see that you made it safely back!' the red head cried, getting up from her seat and throwing her arms around her friend. Verity joined them a moment later and the three friends stood there for a moment before breaking apart.

'Good to see that you're starting to fit in girls,' Yana smiled, taking a seat next to Lilah while Verity resumed her spot next to the window. 'How have you been?'

'Oh, well enough,' Lilah replied. 'The temple is certainly my new favourite place!'

'Yes…it certainly is incredible!' Verity nodded.

Yana looked at the young brunette. 'And how about you, Verity? Have you recovered from…that?' She didn't need to explain what she was referring to when she spoke.

Verity smiled weakly. 'Not completely…but I'm getting there…' The younger cleric smiled at Ricken then, who blushed slightly as her eyes turned in his direction. 'Ricken here has certainly been helping me with moving on though; I doubt that I would be as well of as I am now without him.'

'Oh really?' Yana replied, raising an eyebrow and grinning at Lilah, who snickered. Both of the older women had seen the way Ricken's cheeks had gone red.

'Just…just doing what I can to help out a distressed lady!' Ricken explained hurriedly at their smirks.

'It's okay, Ricken, relax!' Yana chuckled. 'I'm glad that you've been helping her. In fact, I'm encouraging you to do so!'

As Ricken turned even redder, Yana decided to let him off the hook and asked, 'Where's Kari, by the way?'

Verity was the one to answer, saying, 'The last I saw of her, she and Sir Stahl were making their way back to the barracks. I think Kari wanted him to teach her swordplay.'

'Huh…there's a surprise…' Yana remarked. 'Though I guess I can understand her thinking.'

'Yes, I think our friend does not wish to feel helpless again,' Lilah commented. 'Tis a horrible feeling after all.'

'Well, I hope Stahl is able to handle our energetic friend,' Yana chuckled. She then got up and made to leave. 'Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you two were alright and behaving yourselves. Now I think I'm going to have a nice long bath before an even longer nap!'

 **-A Fighter's Lessons in Peep…er…'flowers'-**

After Raye and Miriel had ran out of the eating hall, the others soon dispersed as well. Lissa and Maribelle decided to go up to the library to spend a nice relaxing afternoon reading, Frederick said that he was going to check up on some personal business, though Chrom thought he heard the man mutter something that sounded disturbingly like '…how to raise morale…', while Robin planned to get some much needed rest.

Rest sounded very good to Chrom and he made his way to the palace, his bed already calling out to him. However, he was halted by the sight of Vaike lurking in the shade of a nearby tree and looking in through a window.

The prince walked over to the shirtless man and tapped him on the shoulder, asking, 'Vaike…what are you doing?'

At the tap on his shoulder, Vaike leapt a foot in the air and quickly turned around.

'Ah…er…Chrom!' he said quickly, looking extremely guilty. 'Ah…the Vaike was simply…er…admiring the flowers…yeah, that's it! Flowers!'

Chrom looked at him in confusion. 'Vaike…what flowers?' He looked pointedly around them; there was not a flower in sight.

'Uh…the flowers in the Vaike's head?' Vaike mumbled before grunting and throwing his hands in the air in defeat. 'Alright, fine! The Vaike shoulda know his rival was gonna find him out!'

Chrom rubbed his the bridge of his nose and sighed. 'Alright Vaike, what are you doing?'

A sly grin crossed the prince's blonde friend and he quickly grabbed Chrom's shoulder, bringing him around. 'How about the Vaike show ya? This is gonna be good for the both of us!'

Staring at him for a moment, Chrom then looked through the window he was now in front of. For a moment he didn't realise what he was looking at. The moment he did, however, he instantly went a shade of bright red.

There for all the world to see, or rather two pairs of eyes, was a naked Sumia and Sully, currently in the middle of having a relaxing looking bath in the FEMALE washing area.

'V…Vaike…! What the hell, man!' Chrom stuttered, though he was unable to tear his eyes away from the sight in front of him. He noted detachedly that Sully had several scars across her surprisingly large bosom…wait, what had he just thought?

The prince shook himself and turned to look at Vaike in horror. 'Do you know what those two, ESPECIALLY Sully, will do to us if they find out we were peeping on them in the baths?'

'That's why the Vaike and his rival ain't gonna tell nobody!' Vaike replied, as if the answer was incredibly obvious. 'C'mon, Chrom, how often are you gonna get a chance to see four beautiful sights?'

'You're…you're…blast, I don't know exactly what to call you right now, but you're definitely whatever it is!'

'Shh, pipe down, Teach sees more ladies arriving!'

Despite himself, Chrom's eyes turned back to look into the baths and saw that Vaike was correct, through the steam near the door he could make out the silhouette of a woman entering the bathing area.

A moment later, however, a look of abject horror slowly crossed his face as the prince realised who had just arrived; his newly discovered, cleric twin sister Yana. Even as he clapped his hands over his eyes, Chrom could not help the thought that his sister, his TWIN sister, had what could only be described as a man's definition of a perfect body from creeping into his mind.

Unfortunately, Vaike clearly had the same thought.

'Holy Naga, Chrom…your sister…she has to have the hottest body the Vaike has ever seen!'

'Never say that again if you value your life!' Chrom tried to growl, though it came out more as a whimper.

Vaike paid no attention to his words, being utterly transfixed by the sight of the naked Yana.

'Damn…!' he whispered as the cleric lowered herself elegantly into the hot waters beside Sumia and Sully. 'What I wouldn't give…'

'What wouldn't you give?' a voice, a clearly FEMININE voice, suddenly asked curiously behind them.

The two men froze before whipping around, Vaike awkwardly trying to shield his midriff from the sight of whoever was behind them. Chrom groaned inwardly when he saw that the person who had snuck up on them was none other than Robin, tactician for the Shepherds and perhaps the second person he least wanted to see at that moment, the first being Yana.

'What are you guys doing?' the tactician asked, cocking her head as she walked over to the window. Before they could stop her, Robin looked through the window. A moment later, the tactician's cheeks turned a blazing red and she slowly turned around to face the two men.

'Er…it's not what it looks like…' Chrom tried to plead weakly.

'Really? Because it looks like you two were in the middle of becoming my new targets!' Robin replied, glaring at the two men before dangerously.

'Targets for…what exactly?'

'Well, it certainly won't be stones this time Chrom, if that's what you're asking,' Robin growled. 'I'm thinking something more…'shocking'!'

Before Chrom and Vaike could plead their case further, all three of them heard a snort coming from around the corner of the building. They all peeked around the corner only to find themselves face to face with Sully's wild looking horse, Thunder.

'Er…is it just me or does Thunder look almost like his namesake?' Chrom commented nervously.

The horse then began to stamp its hooves before letting out a deafening neigh and charging directly at the three suddenly terrified people, tactician included.

'WAIT, WHY MEEEEEE?!' Robin wailed as she was forced to flee alongside the two perverts, one of was having trouble running due to the fact that he was still holding a hand in front of his midriff.

 **-Female bonding-**

Inside the bathing room, the three women currently enjoying its waters looked up when they thought they heard a commotion from outside.

'What was that?' Sumia wondered, half raising herself out of the waters.

'Eh, right now, I couldn't care less!' Sully sighed, sinking deeper into the warm depths. She then eyed Yana, studying the cleric's body appreciatively. 'But damn, princess, gotta hand it to ya, that's one rocking body you have!'

Yana giggled. 'Aw, thanks Sully! My adoptive mother always did insist on giving me a well-balanced diet when I was growing up.'

'What the hell didja eat to turn out like that?'

'Just meat and fresh vegetables really,' Yana replied, shrugging.

'Damn…I'm defs even more jealous!' Sully complained. 'I've tried everything I could, EATEN anything I could, and I still can't seem to grow out!'

It was Yana's turn to look appraisingly at Sully's body. 'I don't know…I think you have an incredible body already,' she eventually said.

'Huh…well, thanks I guess,' Sully replied, looking slightly embarrassed. She then gestured at Sumia. 'Alright, body expert; what about our little Sumia?'

Sumia squeaked when Yana looked in her direction and quickly hid herself up to her neck below the waterline. 'Um, if it's all the same to you, I'd rather not hear any opinions on my body!'

Sully chortled and swam over to Sumia, grasping her under her armpits and attempting to drag her out into view. 'Hey, we're all women here, Sumia, now show us the goods!'

As Sumia shrieked and tried to wriggle out of Sully's grip, Yana laughed and shook her head. It was to the sight of Sully, having half raised Sumia out of the water, that Lissa was subjected to as she too walked into the bathing room.

'Er…what the heck is going on here?' she asked in amazement.

At her words, all three women in the bath turned to look at her. Sully grinned evilly, which set Lissa's danger sense into overdrive and she carefully backed out of the room.

'Um, so I'll be going now…BYE!'

With that, the blonde princess attempted to run out of the room, but Sully was surprisingly quick and managed to cut off her escape route. The female knight loomed over Lissa, who was now forced to back away in the direction of the bath.

'Y…Yana…help…!' Lissa mumbled, but Yana merely pretended to ignore her. 'P…please?'

'TOO LATE, PRINCESS!' Sully cackled and then jumped Lissa, wrapping her arms around the blonde's tiny frame and hauling her, wriggling in desperation, into the warm embrace of the waters.

To all those outside, the distinct wails of a certain blonde princess could be heard even as far as the fleeing forms of three individuals being chased by a vengeful looking horse.

()()()()()()()()

 _I suppose you could nickname this entire chapter as the 'awkward' chapter._

 _So, how did you think the supports with multiple characters went? Should I do more, or would you guys prefer the more traditional duo supports?_

 _Also, the last bit_ _ **'Female Bonding'**_ _is somewhat of a side joke. In explanation, for all of those who have watched anime, especially harem ones, you might recognise this particular event; there is always, and I mean ALWAYS, a bathing scene in them where the female characters either have a heartfelt moment or compare chest sizes (or both at the same time). I thought that, since there were already several bathing based events in the Awakening supports, it might be amusing to add on to it._

 _Anyway, in regards to Maribelle still being around at this point, it's one of those changes that are going to be occurring more frequently. Don't worry; the whole first meeting with Gangrel will still occur, just in a more surprising way._

 _Finally, you might have noticed the glimpse of two pairings…that I plan, those being Ricken/Verity and Kari/Stahl._

 _Ciao for now!_


	12. Chapter 10

-Chapter Ten- Discoveries and a Dragon's Fury-

Sahria hummed with pleasure as she soared through the evening air.

' _Totally worth annoying master for this!'_ she thought to herself. The young manakete then shook herself as she spotted a group of pegasus knights sharing the skies with her ahead. _'There they are.'_

The leader of the pegasus knight squadron almost had a heart attack when she saw the large golden and black dragon winging its way towards them.

'Sisters, form up on me!' she shouted, pointing her spear in the direction of the approaching dragon. 'Keep it tight and bring the beast down!'

As he squad sisters formed a triangle behind her, their captain was surprised when the dragon halted in front of them and, incredibly, waved at them.

' _Hey there, I'm Sahria and I'm here to help ya!'_ the dragon greeted them cheerfully.

'…what…?' the pegasus knight blinked, holding up a hand to signal her knights to stand down.

Sahria frowned. _'Sahria, here to help you,'_ she repeated. She then realised the reason for the woman's confusion. ' _Oh, right; you wouldn't have known I was coming would ya? Don't worry, I'm not some wild dragon here to eat you or anything; I'm under the order of Prince Chrom of Ylisse to help you track down the Plegians that attacked Duke Themis's land.'_

At the mention of Chrom's name, the knight visibly relaxed.

'If that's true, then I welcome your assistance,' the woman replied and proceeded to introduce herself and her squadron. 'The name's Captain Laura and they're Martha, Jillian, Vera and Kathryn.' The pegasus captain pointed to each of her subordinates as she introduced them.

' _Cool, nice to meet ya!'_ Sahria said, nodding at the pegasus knights. _'Right, any idea where those Plegians are? Seen anything?'_

'Afraid not, Sahria,' Captain Laura shook her head, slightly in awe that she was now conversing with a dragon. 'We were just about to go and fly a few miles to the east of Duke Themis's lands; if their target was the capitol that's the direction they'd have to go.'

' _You think they have the numbers to strike at the capitol?'_ Sahria asked in concern.

Captain Laura hesitated before answering. 'Not really, I'm just going through all the scenarios that the Plegians might be trying to enact.'

' _Oh…well, I'm under your command now, Captain Laura, so just say the word and I'll roast whatever needs roasting!'_

The captain of the pegasus knights smiled. 'I admire your enthusiasm, Sahria, and am relieved that we'll have your strength behind us for this. We'd best be careful all the same though; the Plegians most likely have some of their damned mages with them and they're known for being extremely difficult to deal with.'

' _Gotcha; eat the mages first!'_

With that, the pegasus squadron, now accompanied by Sahria, flew in the direction of Duke Themis's lands. They reached it almost half an hour later and Sahria saw that the Plegians had indeed done quite a lot of damage to the duke's property; the once proud mansion that stood in the middle of the grounds was now a burnt husk of its former glory.

' _I hope that Duke Themis's family will be able to recover from this,'_ Sahria commented.

'Eh, I wouldn't worry about them too much, Lady Sahria,' the pegasus knight Vera replied. 'That family didn't keep their fortune at the mansion; they've got it all in some fancy bank in the capitol. All they really lost is probably a little bit of their pride and, in the case of their daughter, their temper!'

The other pegasus knights, apart from Captain Laura who frowned, laughed at Vera's words though they were silenced by a look from their captain.

'You are also forgetting the lives of their many servants, Vera,' she pointed out sternly. 'The attack is no laughing matter; this is just going to bring us that much closer to war.'

'Sorry, captain,' Vera mumbled, looking ashamed of herself. Captain Laura nodded, accepting Vera's apology, and led her small force east of the estate.

As they flew over a large group of trees Sahria suddenly sensed a build-up of magical energy.

' _Hey, captain…I think we should…'_ she began before a sudden blade of wind sliced through her left wings, causing a spurt of blood to erupt from them and the young dragon to let out a roar of pain.

With the loss of her two left wings, Sahria immediately began to descend drunkenly towards the ground, desperately trying to slow her fall. The pegasus knights attempted to locate who had fired the spell, but before they could Kathryn and Jillian's pegasi were killed by a hail of arrows that seemed to come from nowhere. As the two women fell screaming through the air, they were both saved by Vera and Martha, the two still mounted pegasus knights catching them mid-fall and pulling them up behind them.

'Sisters, to the ground; we're sitting ducks in the air!' Captain Laura yelled and she and her squad quickly landed next to Sahria.

The young dragon had crashed with quiet a violent impact, but apart from the injury to her wings appeared to be fine. Even as the pegasus knights landed next to her, golden light burst from her body and a moment later Sahria had transformed back into her human form.

The teenager gritted her teeth and hissed in pain, clutching her left arm.

'Ouch, that really hurt!' she growled.

'Are you going to be able to fight?' Captain Laura asked her, dismounting and moving over to the injured girl.

'Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine in a minute,' Sahria replied.

She then took her staff off her back and tapped the end of it against the ground. A moment later a soft white light engulfed her and she breathed in relief as she felt her injuries heal themselves. Straightening, Sahria saw the five women looking at her in surprise.

'Hmm…oh, that?' she commented. 'Oh, that's just the power of my precious staff, Serenity; it allows me to heal any injury, even my own, as well as do this!' As Sahria spoke, she held the staff aloft and, with a murmur of a word in a language the knights didn't recognise, summoned her giant golden knight.

The knight bowed to its mistress before facing the pegasus knights, dropping into a combat stance before Sahria quickly stopped it.

'Woah, easy there buddy; they're cool!' she exclaimed and the knight relaxed. 'Sorry about him; he's highly paranoid about anyone who's not me…at least I think that's how the summon works, not really sure.'

'But he won't attack us, right?' Martha asked nervously.

'Nah, not unless I ordered him to, which I'm not gonna.'

As her subordinates breathed in relief, Captain Laura scanned the environment.

'We probably shouldn't stay here,' she said warningly. 'It's quite obvious that it was Plegians that shot you down, Sahria, and they're most likely magically cloaked.' She then glanced at Kathryn and Jillian. 'Also, we're two pegasi down, which certainly doesn't help, though I'm glad you two are alright.' The captain thought for a few seconds before coming to a decision. 'Right…we're going to have to retreat; who knows how many Plegians there are out there and I'd rather not waste our lives on finding out that number while we have incapacitated knights.'

'Ah, and here I was hoping that you'd stay and play for a while!' a smooth voice said suddenly from behind the group.

As the pegasus knights and Sahria turned in the direction of voice, Vera was suddenly engulfed in a raging inferno and she screamed in agony as she burned to death beside her startled companions. Even as they recoiled away from the sudden sight and smell, Kathryn was riddled with arrows, her gasp of surprise cut short as two pierced her throat. Nearby, the three surviving pegasi were also brutally killed in a combination of fire and arrows, their frenzied neighs mercifully being cut short after blades of wind decapitated all three.

'Dammit!' Captain Laura roared in anger as she watched her mount's head drop with a thud to the ground. 'You'll pay for that, you dastards!'

She and the two remaining pegasus knights stood back to back, Sahria joining them as they looked desperately around for any sign of their attackers.

'Show yourselves, your pricks!' the captain demanded.

'With pleasure, milady,' the voice that had spoken before said mockingly.

A moment later there was a shimmer from all around the four survivors and, to their horror, they saw dozens of what could only be Plegians, identified by their black and purple cloaks, appear surrounding them.

A tall man, dressed in a sorcerer's garb, stepped forward. He had black hair, a goatee and a look of such malice that even Sahria shivered when she saw it.

'Greetings, young ladies of Ylisse,' the man said, bowing mockingly to them. 'I am Validar, a sorcerer in the employ of Plegia, and I am _honoured_ to make your acquaintance!'

'Screw you, asshole!' Captain Laura spat back in reply. 'Why the hell are you bothering to introduce yourself when it's clear that you're just going to murder us?'

'Ah, let me correct your confusion; my words were reserved for the manakete in your company,' Validar replied silkily, pointing at Sahria who glared back at him. He eyed her with great interest. 'I was not expecting there to be one of your kind here, but perhaps it is fortuitous that you are; I'm sure that Emmeryn would pay handsomely to get you back.' The sorcerer grinned evilly. 'Or perhaps I should keep you for myself? You would make quite the fascinating little research subject!'

'Yeah, no, that sounds really gross!' Sahria snapped back. 'How about, instead, I let my knight study you with its sword, you jackass?'

Validar chuckled. 'My, such fire for something so small!' He then glared at her. 'I've decided; Gangrel can have you, and when he's finished…playing…with you, I'll take whatever's left!' He then pointed at the pegasus knights. 'Kill them, but leave the manakete in relatively good condition!'

Captain Laura reflexively closed her eyes as the many archers and mages under Validar's command shot a barrage of arrows and spells in the pegasus knights' direction. To her surprise, the pain of death never came and she slowly opened her eyes to see that there was now a dome of golden light surrounding her and her remaining sisters. She looked around and saw that the dome's source was the staff that Sahria held.

The young manakete gritted her teeth as the arrows and spells impacted with her barrier. She then breathed a sigh of relief when her barrier held, though she knew that it wouldn't be able to hold against more barrages like that.

'We gotta do something, Laura!' she growled. 'My barriers can only take so much, and this particular one only lasts for so long!'

'We can't do much since our pegasi have been killed!' Captain Laura replied. She looked around, hoping for something that could aid them, but was unable to. 'Can't see anything that would help either!'

Even as she spoke, Sahria's barrier was suddenly broken when Validar, who had a contemplative frown on his face at the sight of the golden barrier, stepped forwards and brought out a pure black tome. Even from where she was, Sahria could sense the malignant power that radiated from it. As Validar began chanting, her left eye suddenly began burning, her right eye also beginning to itch. Once he had finished chanting, Validar thrust a hand out and an enormous orb of dark magic crashed down on Sahria's barrier, shattering it into millions of golden shards and consuming those taking cover beneath it in its dark energy. Sahria felt excruciating pain encompass her, though it was nothing to what the humans beside her were subjected to; even as she watched through pain filled eyes, the young manakete saw in horror the pegasus knights' skins slowly melt away, their skeletons following soon after before all that was left of the once proud women were three piles of ash that were soon blown away in the evening wind.

As she fell to the ground, stunned, Sahria was aware of her knight engaging the Plegian forces. It carved through a group of ten swordsmen, but was soon disintegrated by the same spell that had broken her barrier.

Seeing Validar approach her slowly, the young manakete tried to reach for her staff, which had fallen a few inches away from her, but the sorcerer quickly closed the distance and picked it up. However, as soon as he touched it, the staff seemed to burn his skin and he quickly threw it away with a snarl.

'What kind of magic…?' he growled. He kicked the downed teenager in the gut, being rewarded with a sob of pain as the manakete curled into a ball. 'Where the hell did you get a staff like that? Who gave it to you?'

'M…master…' Sahria whimpered, unbeknownst to Validar echoing her words in her mind.

Validar frowned. 'Your master gave it to you? Who is he?'

'M…master…please…'

The sorcerer growled and picked up the teenage by her throat. She struggled feebly as he studied her. Once he reached her left eye, however, a shocked look entered his own; there, clearly seen, was the Mark of the Exalt. However, his shock only grew when he looked into her right eye for he saw an even more familiar mark in that one; the six eyed Mark of Grima, recognisable to Validar for he had an amulet in the exact same shape around his neck.

'What are you…?' he breathed. 'A manakete brat with the marks of both Naga _and_ Grima?' He shook her violently. 'Who are your parents?!' He narrowed his eyes when he saw her pass out and dropped her to the ground. He then gestured to several of his followers. 'Bind her; my master will want to meet this girl. And someone get her damned staff, I certainly can't.'

As a group of Plegians hurried to do his bidding, Validar stroked his chin thoughtfully, not noticing a certain ginger haired thief frown as he watched them take the young manakete away and sucking on a lollipop.

()()()()()()()

Even as an unconscious Sahria was being bound to a tree, Raye suddenly felt a sudden pain in his head. When it had dissipated, he frowned as he realised that it had felt disturbingly familiar.

'It can't be…Grima…?' he muttered to himself.

Deciding that whatever it had been was a cause for concern, he quickly made his way to the throne room where he knew Chrom and Yana were hanging out with Emmeryn. He pushed past the guards and threw the doors open, surprising those inside.

'Raye…what's wrong?' Yana asked, seeing immediately that the manakete was agitated.

'I…cannot be sure but I believe that I should go and check up in Sahria and the others,' Raye replied.

Chrom frowned. 'Why, is there something wrong?'

'I could be mistaken but a few minutes ago I…felt something that was familiar to me…' the manakete explained. 'A presence that I haven't felt for close to a thousand years.'

'Who?'

Raye considered replying, before sighing and saying, 'I can't be too sure, so don't quote me on this, but the presence seemed very similar to…Grima.' A shocked silence followed Raye's words.

Chrom then swallowed and said nervously, 'Are…are you sure…? Please don't be sure!'

Raye looked at him in annoyance. 'As I said, I can't be sure. The presence was similar to him, but ONLY similar! Whatever it was, I don't think it was Grima himself, rather that it was…somehow related to him.'

'This is very worrying if your instincts are correct, Raye,' Emmeryn said in a worried tone.

'Yeah so, because it is I'm gonna go check it out if it's all the same to you,' Raye grunted. 'Just thought that I should tell you before I left.'

Before he could leave, Chrom stopped him by asking, 'Hang on…how were you able to recognise that, whatever this presence was, it felt similar to Grima?'

Raye paused before saying over his shoulder, 'Because I once fought him a thousand years ago…but failed…'

Without waiting for anyone to question him further, the manakete quickly left, leaving behind an even more shocked group of people looking after him in silence. Internally, Yana sighed, seeing that Raye's past, and his true origins, were getting dangerously close to being revealed.

()()()()()()()()

Ten minutes later, it was Raye's turn to wing his way through the now dark skies of Ylisse. He searched with both his eyes and his mind, casting his thoughts for miles in every direction, as he searched for his apprentice. Reaching Duke Themis's ruined estate, he suddenly detected a faint hint of Sahria's mind, as well as the minds of several unfamiliar people.

What bothered him the most was that he also detected the faint evidence of the presence that he had felt back in Ylisstol.

Landing some distance away from the group of minds, he transformed and stealthily made his way through the darkness in their direction. As he approached, he soon picked up a conversation that was being held between two of them.

'…why we don't just take her back to Plegia now,' one was saying.

'Because Master Validar is the only one who would be able to knock her back out if she woke up,' another sighed. 'Unless you feel like dealing with an angry manakete?'

'Well, why didn't the master take her with him, then?'

Raye heard a slap that seemed to signify someone had hit the back of their companion's head. 'Because, you dolt, he'll be too busy dealing with that whore of an Exalt!'

Hearing this, Raye stiffened, anger stirring at the edge of his mind but managing to suppress it. However, what he heard next made him freeze in place.

'Eh, whatever, I think I'll go see if the others have finished having their fun with our 'guest',' the first voice grunted. He then laughed. 'Though, I will admit it would be so much more fun if she was conscious; that way I'd be able to hear her whimper!'

'Again, she would most likely be able to kill you if she were awake,' the second voice sighed dismissively. 'Besides, what's the fun in having your way with an unconscious whore?'

'They can't complain that way, that's part of the fun!' the first voice cackled.

All through these despicable words, Raye felt a rage unlike anything he had ever felt before surge through him. Seemingly without his notice, flames began to flicker into life across his arms, the wings that he had created back at Arena Ferox also starting to form.

Eventually, despite his best efforts, the manakete's anger reached explosive points and, with a ground-cracking roar, allowed the flames of his fury to explode into life. All around him, trees were scorched and burst into flame as the dirt underneath his feet turned to ash. The air itself seemed to scream at the touch of his flames and the temperature around the manakete soared, being already felt by the Plegians ahead, who all looked around at both the sounds and the heat that suddenly appeared.

Charging right through the trees, the trees themselves burning away in front of him and in his wake, Raye plunged his flaming claws straight through the chest of the first Plegian he met. Lifting the man up even as he gurgled with pain, the manakete increased the heat of his claws and disintegrated his victim a moment later.

As the man's ashes fell all around him, Raye barrelled towards a group of Plegians who had raced towards the direction of the disturbance. Before they could react, he darted into their midst and tore them all to pieces, heads, arms and legs being thrown in all directions and blood splattering ever nearby surface.

The remaining Plegians, seeing this massacre, all screamed and scrambled to flee to no avail. One by one the raging manakete ripped through their number, almost seeming to teleport due to his sheer speed. Soon, all that remained of the Plegians, and the nearby forest, was a scorched clearing and ashen ground.

Standing in the middle of the destruction, Raye breathed slowly and tried to calm himself down. It took nearly half an hour, but eventually the manakete's rage dissipated and his flaming claws and wings disappeared. Letting out a breath, Raye then proceeded to search for Sahria, his nose quickly leading him to her location.

He found her, tied slumped to a tree and her clothes ripped. Seeing the condition she was in almost sent Raye off again, but he held the anger in check and, quickly removing his armour so that he could take off his shirt, wrapped it around the young girl.

At the touch of the clothing being wrapped around her, Sahria's eyes fluttered open and she looked up groggily. 'M…master…you came…for me…' she muttered as she slowly saw who was in front of her.

'Yes, Little Dragon, of course I did,' Raye whispered softly, tenderly stroking her hair, grimacing when his fingers felt a suspicious stickiness in its depths. 'What did they do to you?'

'They…they…' Sahria whimpered, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. 'Master…I think they…did to me what my…father did to my mother…' She then let the tears fall and sobbed into her mentor's shoulder. 'I…I felt them…even though I was barely conscious…it was so gross…!' She looked tearfully up at Raye. 'Why would they do that to me; I was already their prisoner…?'

Raye silently hugged her for several minutes, allowing the younger manakete to feel the already familiar comfort of his presence, before saying through gritted teeth, 'Because they don't care about who they ruin as long as they get to have their fun.' He then broke away from the embrace and looked her in the eyes. 'Sahria, as cruel as this was for you, you must try and be strong; I know how bad that might sound, but you must make sure not to let this break you! Don't give them the satisfaction of…' His voice trailed off when he finally saw what Validar had; the marks of Naga in Grima in their respective eye. 'What in Naga's name…?'

Raye looked closer into her eyes, making sure that he wasn't seeing things, before frowning down at Sahria.

'Who are you, Sahria…really?' he demanded, though in a much gentler tone than Validar had used. 'Where do you come from and who are your parents?'

Sahria gulped, but then sagged in defeat.

'I suppose, if anyone was going to find out, it might as well be you…' she sighed, snuggling against Raye's chest for a moment before leaning back.

'My mother is…Yana…and my father…' the young manakete let out a breath before continuing, '…is Grima…'

()()()()()()()

 _Well, there you go, Sahria's parents have been officially confirmed, though Yana was already that, so…yeah._

 _One of you was very close in their theory of who her father was (you know who you are_ _ **99**_ _) so I congratulate you on that._

 _In all honesty, I have no idea how this chapter is going to be received, none of us do, and I worry that I handled it poorly or included it too quickly. I just felt that there was no point in keeping Sahria's secret, at least from Raye since I feel he would definitely have cottoned onto the fact much quicker than others, and since she was separated from his protection at the beginning of this chapter it ended up being this way._

 _Also, don't worry; Sahria is not going to get pregnant from the 'attentions' of those bastard Plegians._

 _In brighter news, the next chapter will finally focus on Sahria's origins (okay, maybe not so brighter), so look forward to that._

 _I'm thinking that I'm going to have to change the rating of this story at some point…_

 _Ciao for now!_


	13. Chapter 11

-Chapter Eleven- Her Story

'Let me guess this straight…' Raye said deadpan. 'Your other is Yana, a woman I know for a fact is a virgin, and your father is…Grima…as in the Felldragon Grima, the Grima whose been dead for a thousand years and whose coming means a lifetime of pain and suffering?' He stared at the girl in front of him. 'THAT Grima?'

'Yes, you saw his mark in my eye, didn't you?' Sahria replied, slightly annoyed as she began to recover from her treatment at the Plegians' hands.

'It's still a lot to take in…' Raye muttered. He was then silent for several minutes as he thought about what had been revealed to him. After a while, a look of comprehension crossed his face. 'Oh…you're from the future, aren't you?' When Sahria nodded, he frowned in contemplation. 'And…I'm guessing the Naga of your time sent you back to ours?'

'Er, no actually; my master of that time did,' Sahria corrected her current master.

At this, Raye's frown deepened. 'Wait a sec…there was another dragon with enough power to pull something like that off? Who?'

Sahria shrugged. 'He never told me his name; all I know about him is that he was a manakete as well. Probably why my f…I mean Grima…chose him to be my master.'

'And this unnamed manakete…I'm guessing he mentored you against his will?'

Sahria nodded. 'Yes, I don't know where he came from but one day Grima shoved me into a room where I saw my old master chained to a wall and ordered him to teach me everything about manaketes.'

Raye rubbed his eyes and sighed. 'How about you start from the beginning?'

'Okay, but we might be here for a while…'

()()()()()()()()

 _From what I know, Grima was resurrected about four years before my birth. After he had wiped out what remained of the Shepherds, he returned to Plegia. He wasn't alone, however; there was one Shepherd that he spared, that being my mother, Yana._

 _It wasn't until I was around ten that he told me the reason; apparently, at some point my mother became the Vessel of Naga, and…_

()()()()()()()()

'Woah, hold up!' Raye interrupted. 'Yana became what?'

'Really, master, if you're gonna already interrupt me, is there really any point in me telling you what happened?' Sahria sighed. 'Yes, my mother became the Naga's vessel.'

'Sorry…continue…'

()()()()()()()()

 _As I was SAYING…Yana at some point became the Vessel of Naga. According to Grima, it was due to this that the Shepherds nearly succeeded in preventing his resurrection. They only failed because, again apparently, Grima's own vessel at the time betrayed Chrom, killing him and accepting Grima's soul into his own. With the two of them fused, it wasn't long until Grima's victory came about and he killed the rest of the surviving Shepherds._

 _Even so, Naga in my mother's body apparently put up quite a fight, even injuring Grima so badly that a majority of his power was lost, but in the end the bastard still won with the help of his Grimleal. With Naga defeated, Grima then, and he told me this with quite a gleeful look on his face, killed her soul, effectively removing it from my mother's body but leaving behind the power. He then subdued my mother, bound her powers to the point that she was unable to access them but making sure not to remove them, and took her with him to Plegia._

 _His reason for this was, in his eyes, fairly simple; he would mate with my mother until a child with both of their bloodlines was born. Since he had been significantly weakened during his fight with Naga, he needed a new vessel, but he knew that he would need an even stronger one than the one he had been using at that point. He also seemingly planned to make others like me, to ensure that he had large supply of host bodies if he ever lost one over the years; I was merely the first._

 _Of course, I'm assuming you realise what a vessel, combined with the powers of both Grima and Naga, would grant him; power beyond both which would make him the most powerful dragon to exist. This in turn would ensure his rule for all eternity, a prospect that pleased my father greatly._

()()()()()()()()

'How did you figure this out, by the way?' Raye interrupted again.

Sahria rolled her eyes. 'Weren't you listening? Grima told me all of this over the years.' She grimaced. 'He definitely prided himself on being the one to kill the Divine Dragon Naga and bringing about the end of humanity.'

'Yep, that sounds like him,' Raye muttered. 'Alright, go on.'

()()()()()()()()

 _Thank you._

 _Now, according to my mother, she bad birthed two children before she had me, but since those two children hadn't had enough of both bloodlines in them Grima killed them almost as soon as they had been born. Apparently they only had one mark or the other, and I was the first to have both marks._

 _My first memories of the world after I was born was that of my mother's face before I was ripped out of her arms and taken to a dark cell._

 _I spent the next five years in that cell, Grima coming to visit me every so often to check on my development and ordering a wet-nurse to look after me. As soon as I was able to walk and speak, he immediately set lessons for me._

 _Of course, a human could only teach me so much; eventually I knew as much as I needed about human culture. I was about eleven at the time. My father then decided that I was to be instructed on my draconic side and set out to find any manakete that may have survived the war. One month later, he came to my cell, killed my wet-nurse on the spot, and took me to another room._

 _It was there that I met my master before you, master._

 _He was an old guy, blind as well with grey hair and a sad expression. Grima introduced me, but didn't bother telling me the old man's name, and then locked me inside the room._

 _()()()()()()()()_

' _Um…hello mister,' I mumbled, looking at the old man chained to a wall in front of me._

 _At my voice, the old man stirred and, despite clearly being blind, looked directly at me, a sad smile on his face._

' _Hello, child,' he murmured. I had to move forward a few steps to hear him, so faint was his voice. 'A pleasure to make your acquaintance.'_

' _Don't lie…I can feel that you don't want to be here…'_

 _The man chuckled. 'I could say the same thing about you, Little Dragon.'_

 _My ears perked up at this and I studied him interestedly. 'You can tell what I am?' I then smiled eagerly. 'Are you like me?'_

' _Well, I AM of the manaketes, if that's what you're asking, but I am not like YOU,' the old man replied. 'You are something far different than anything I've ever encountered, certainly not like any manakete I've met.'_

' _Oh…I…I'm sorry…' I sniffed, slightly upset at his words._

 _Seeming to sense my emotions, the old man's face gained a guilty expression._

' _Apologies, I did not mean to suggest that you had anything to feel sorry about,' he explained. 'I merely meant that, while you are a manakete like me, you are at the same time so much more.'_

' _Oh…is that a good thing?'_

 _The old man shrugged. 'I'm not sure…perhaps…' He then cleared his throat. 'Now then, I believe that your…father…wishes for me to teach you about our people.' He grimaced. 'At least that's the impression I got when he tortured me a few days ago.'_

 _My hand leaped to my mouth. 'My father tortured you? I'm so sorry!' I then looked at his blind eyes. 'Were…were you able to see before that?'_

 _The old man chuckled. 'No, I was already long since blind by the time your father captured me.' He then shifted so that I could see his back; there, to my horror, were two huge, circular scars were his shoulder blades were. 'Instead, he forced me into my dragon form and tore off my wings. The pain was indescribable, but Grima had ways of keeping me alive despite it.'_

 _I cried silently as I looked at the damage that had been inflicted to this poor old man. At the same time, the first feelings of hatred towards my father, pure hatred, stirred within my heart._

' _I can't believe he did that to you!' I growled. 'How can he be so cruel to someone like that?!'_

 _The old man studied me with his blind eyes for a few moments after my outburst._

' _If I may be so bold, you seem surprisingly compassionate for a progeny of Grima…' he commented eventually._

 _I held my chin up high as I replied, 'Yeah, well, I'm also my mother's daughter!'_

' _Ah, so you have spoken with your mother then?'_

 _I deflated a little as I thought about the few times my father had allowed me to see my mother._

' _Yeah…but not as much as I'd like…' I smiled sadly. 'She's really kind, but really sad at the same time. She tells me she loves me every time I see her, but I can tell that she wishes that we had more time together. I wish that as well.' Tears threatened to take me again, but I pushed them back._

' _I am sorry to hear of the suffering you two have had to endure, Little Dragon,' the old man said sympathetically._

 _I sniffled and then looked at him curiously. 'Why do you keep calling me that? Little Dragon, I mean.'_

' _Ha! I call you Little Dragon because you are, obviously, a young dragon,' the man explained with a chuckle. 'Apologies, did you want me to call you something else?'_

' _No…it's the first time I've ever been called something other than 'Your Ladyship' or 'Daughter of Mine'…' I mumbled. 'I don't really mind, I was just surprised that you'd call me something so…normal…' I then frowned. 'You could also just call me Sahria, you know.'_

' _Probably, but I prefer Little Dragon for the moment,' the man said, in a teasing tone._

 _I stuck my tongue out at him, but smiled all the same. I could tell that the old man and me would get along just fine._

 _()()()()()()()()_

'Huh…sounds like he was a great guy…' Raye commented.

'Yeah, the best!' Sahria agreed. She then hurriedly touched Raye on the arm and said, 'Not that I think that you're bad or anything, master; it's just that he was my first, and firsts are forever! I'm glad that you're my second, and I hope that you'll be my second forever as well!'

'Er…I'd be careful about saying something like that…' Raye replied, coughing awkwardly. 'People might get the wrong idea.'

'Huh?'

'Never mind, just continue!' Raye said quickly.

()()()()()()()()

 _Right…_

 _Well, for the next four years my master taught me everything he knew about the manaketes, from proper care of your scales to the necessity of keeping your teeth in pristine condition. He was even allowed to instruct me on flying beyond the boundaries of the castle we were imprisoned in, though always under the watch of my father and a legion of his Grimleal. I always enjoyed those lessons, since it meant I was able to see what the world looked like. Surprisingly, my father hadn't destroyed as much of it as he had let on, or perhaps the worlds was simply healing itself after what had happened during the war. Where we lived may have been mostly desert sands and the occasional oasis, but since I'd been cooped up in a dingy castle most of my life I relished the chance to see them._

 _During this time, I was also unfortunately able to hear it when my father…mated with my mother, since he had moved me into a room right next to hers. I seriously think that he did that on purpose, because he knew how close my mother and I had already become despite the limited time we were able to spend together and how much it would upset me to hear her cries of pain. Every time I did, a little part…okay, ALL of my parts, wept for my mother._

 _After hearing my father mating with my mother for what felt like the hundredth time, I asked my master if my father even loved my mother, something that she always assured me that he did. The old man said that, perhaps at some point he had, but now he was just using her for his own gain. I then asked if my father even loved ME, but my master didn't reply; I got his meaning as soon as that happened, and I was depressed for several days after it. Deep down, though, I already knew that Grima didn't really see me as a daughter, and the hatred that I'd first felt after seeing what he had done to my master resurfaced._

 _()()()()()()()_

' _Why? Why does he do this to us?' I sobbed, even as I heard my mother let out screams of pain and pleads of mercy in the room next to us. 'We're his family!'_

' _Little Dragon…I'm sorry, but I do not know how to answer that,' my master replied sadly._

' _Why couldn't you have been my father!' I raged, stamping my foot. 'You would be way better at it than he could ever be!'_

' _Because fate is a fickle thing, Little Dragon,' my master replied. He then chuckled softly. 'Besides, I am much too old to think about having children.'_

' _That's what you always say, master,' I sighed. I sat down roughly on the cold stone beside my master. 'I wish that I could escape this place, with my mother and you of course.'_

 _My master was silent for a while before whispering carefully, 'What if you could?'_

 _I looked up at him in surprise. 'What do you mean?'_

 _My master's whispers became urgent then. 'What if I told you that, for the last five years, I've been building up my power while keeping it hidden from Grima?'_

' _I'd ask how you were able to do that.'_

 _The old man chuckled. 'Grima is many things, and one those predominant ones is that he is arrogant beyond measure; he would never think to check if my strength was returning, nor even bother to see if I was using a small amount of magic to conceal it as it grew. I merely counted on that fact and thankfully, Grima proved me right.'_

 _I sat up straighter. 'And how much power do you have now?'_

 _The old man considered my words. 'Hmm…I'd say that I have just enough to do ONE miracle.'_

' _That miracle being…?' I pressed him impatiently, knowing that he was indulging in a little dramatic play._

' _I have amassed enough power to send someone back into the past…'_

()()()()()()()()

'Hang on…the only dragons who would have been able to do that, actually the ONLY dragon who would have been able to do that, is Naga herself,' Raye interrupted. 'I've been around for a very long time, but I've never heard of any dragon other than her who had enough power to pull off such a spell, divine dragon or not.'

'Well, I guess you haven't been around long enough!'

'And he claimed to be able to do it despite being incredibly weak at the time?' Raye continued doubtfully.

Sahria put her hands on either side of Raye's face then and glared at him.

'Master, the mere fact that I'm here telling you all this is proof that he DID have that much power!' she snapped. She let go of her current master's face and shook her head. 'Now please, can you shut up so that I can continue?' Sahria eyed Raye with a look that, though he would never tell her, sent a feeling of pride through his body.

'Sure, sure, whatever…' he muttered and sat back.

()()()()()()()()

 _Getting back to my tale…_

 _()()()()()()()()_

' _Are you serious, master?' I asked quickly. I then frowned. 'Wait, what would be the point of that?'_

' _You would be able to change the past so that Grima never rises,' my master pointed out. 'Really, the answer was so obvious I'm surprised that you didn't realise it as soon as I suggested it.'_

' _Well, I've been rather distracted with…THAT…' I protested, jabbing my thumb in the direction of the room beside us. I could still hear my mother's whimpers, which fortunately for her was a sound I knew that meant that my father was almost done. 'But moving on…are you sure that someone would even be able to stop that?'_

' _If you prevented Grima's vessel from betraying Chrom and the Shepherds, then yes,' my master replied, nodding. 'If your mother of that time also becomes the Vessel of Naga, and if Chrom survives, they should be enough to stop the Grimleal from resurrecting their master.'_

 _I considered the old man's words for a moment. It sounded like a good plan, but there was one glaring problem with it; neither of us knew the moment that Grima's vessel betrayed Chrom._

 _When I voiced this aloud, my master agreed. 'Yes, we don't know that, but we DO know who his vessel is.'_

' _Er…do we?' I asked in confusion._

' _Oh, right, I've never told you.' My master would have face-palmed if he had been able at that moment. 'The Vessel of Grima was the Shepherd's tactician, a man called Robin. From what I've heard, Robin was a kind and generous man before being consumed by Grima, which makes all of this much more tragic.' The old man sighed. 'I also do not know why Robin betrayed Chrom, but I am confident that he did not do it of his own free will.'_

' _Why do you say that?'_

' _Because, to be the Vessel of Grima, he would have had to be of his bloodline, and since the Grimleal aren't known to have children, at least with the cooperation of their partners, then I can only imagine that Robin's birth and upbringing was the same as yours.'_

 _I felt slightly sad now for the man that had been this Robin. My own life was a living hell, and I knew the purpose of my father's need for my existence; if this Robin had been bred for the same purpose as I had been, that meant that we were, to some extent, kindred spirits._

' _Does that mean that Robin also had both marks?' I asked curiously._

 _My master shook his head. 'No, he was purely of the line of Grima; you are the first to be of both bloodlines, at least to my knowledge.'_

 _It took me a moment after he had spoken but I then realised that my master had inadvertently revealed something._

' _It seems to me that you know an awful lot about the Shepherds…and it also sounds like you weren't blind at some point…' I said suspiciously. 'Who are you, master? Were you a Shepherd?'_

 _My master chuckled. 'Nay, I was not a Shepherd, I merely heard of them through sources I would rather not reveal.'_

 _I narrowed my eyes; my master was lying and I could tell._

' _That's not the truth, master, and you know that I know it!' I snapped. 'So why don't you tell me the truth?'_

 _My master was silent for a moment before he sighed. 'Yes, I was lying…but I wasn't when I said that I would rather not reveal my secrets.'_

' _But why?' I whined in frustration. 'Why is it so important to keep your identity a secret from me; we've known each other for years!'_

' _Because if the truth became known, Grima would kill me on the spot!' my master snapped, using a tone he had never used before when he had spoken to me._

 _I recoiled at the sudden anger in his voice and went silent._

' _Um…sorry, master…' I mumbled after a while. 'If it means that you might die if the truth were known, then I'd rather not know it.'_

 _My master relaxed and smiled at me. 'Thank you, Little Dragon, for understanding.'_

()()()()()()()()

'Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!' Raye protested. 'You were right; you had every right to know his identity at that point! I'm sure you would have been able to keep the secret if he had told you!'

'I'm glad for your confidence in me, master, but you have to understand; Grima had ways of telling if anyone was keeping secrets from him,' Sahria replied patiently. 'Despite his weakness at the time, he was still a master of getting into people's minds. If my master had been told me, Grima would have found out sooner or later.'

'Then how come you master was able to keep it hidden?' Raye argued.

'Because of the same spell that kept his growing power hidden!' Sahria snapped. 'It made him appear so weak that Grima would always dismiss his presence whenever the two were in the same room!'

'Pretty damn convenient, if you ask me…' Raye grumbled.

Sahria sighed. 'Master, I love you, but you are being insufferable right now!' She then blushed when she realised what she had said.

Fortunately for her, Raye didn't notice the three words that made his apprentice go red in the face, and simply shook his head.

'Fine…I guess it's possible to mask one's presence from the outside world,' he muttered. 'Naga knows I've been doing that for the last thousand years…'

Sahria cocked her head at this. 'Who have you been hiding from, then?'

'Doesn't matter,' Raye replied gruffly, waving away her question.

This made Sahria scowl in anger.

'Why is it that both of my masters never want to tell me anything!' she shouted in frustration. 'Do you know how lonely that makes me feel? You were both supposed to trust me, and yet my first master took his secret to the grave while my current one doesn't seem to care enough about me to tell me anything!'

'Er…well…I mean…' Raye stammered, for the first time in his life at a loss for words. 'Look, we've only been master and apprentice for a short time…'

'So? You're the only manakete around here other than me! I thought I'd finally have chance to bond with another like me after my first master died; was I stupid to think that?' Sahria cried in anger. 'Do you only see me as an apprentice, not a fellow dragon?' She gulped the tears back that threatened to spill from her eyes. 'Do you not care about me?'

'No, of course I care about you!' Raye protested. 'It's just that…I'm new to the whole 'mentor' thing, especially for another dragon!' He rubbed the back of his head. 'I'm just…unsure of how to act around you, that's all…let alone how to be caring for you…' He then studied her. 'Is this why you've been so affectionate towards me, even though we've only known each other for just over a week? Because you're afraid of being unwanted and alone again?'

Sahria looked away from his thoughtful gaze and muttered, 'Maybe…' She sighed. 'Okay…yes; being alone is the most terrifying thing to me, so I was slightly ecstatic when you forced me to be your apprentice. I saw you as another father figure that I was prepared to never have again when my former master died.'

The young manakete then started when she felt her pulled into the warm embrace of the elder manakete. She froze for a split second before nuzzling her master's chest and sinking into his arms.

'I'm sorry…I should have probably seen the need for companionship you had,' Raye murmured, stroking Sahria's long white hair as they sat there in the embrace. 'I promise you that, from now on, I will try to be a master as worthy as you as the old man was.'

Sahria wrapped her arms tightly around her master's body at these words, and Raye could feel the quiet desperation and longing that fuelled the action.

'As…as long as you keep that promise… I guess I can forgive you for being a jerkface…' the girl sniffed. She then pulled out of the embrace and wiped her eyes, smiling. 'Can I continue with my story now?'

'Sure, Little Dragon,' Raye replied. He then paused. 'Sorry…do you want me to call you something else?'

'No…it's fine,' Sahria assured him quickly. 'I…like being called Little Dragon…'

()()()()()()()

 _Um…how about I get to the part where my old master sent me back to the future?_

 _If that's what you want, then sure._

 _Cool…so, my old master put his plan into action a few months after he had suggested it…_

 _()()()()()()()()_

' _So, do you understand what you have to do?' the old man asked me for the fifth time that night._

 _I sighed. 'Yes, master; once you've broken out of your chains, I'll smash through the wall into mother's room, unchain her and then use my teleportation magic to meet you beyond the city walls.'_

' _Do not forget to retrieve your mother's staff as well,' my master reminded me. 'Serenity will be needed for the battles you will face.'_

' _Wait…won't that meant that there will be two of them?' I pointed out. 'Wouldn't that be a big give away as to who I am?'_

' _No, since I will be sending you to a time before your mother received it,' my master explained. 'I do not know how far back you will be going, but the more time you have to prepare for Grima's coming, the better.'_

' _I guess that makes sense…' I mused. 'Wait…Serenity wasn't always my mother's? Where did she get it then?'_

' _I do not know; all that I do about it is that it was made from a scale and fang of a long dead divine dragon,' my master replied, shrugging._

' _Kinda morbid…' I commented and my master chuckled. 'But how do I find the staff?'_

' _The staff should respond to your call,' my master replied. 'From what I know, when your mother received it, it bonded with her in a bloodbond, similar to that of the Falchion that Chrom wielded.' He then paused thoughtfully. 'I suppose that means that a dragon, perhaps Naga herself, gave her the staff personally and bound it to her…it would explain a few things…'_

' _Fascinating, but how does that help me find it?' I asked._

' _Well, since you ARE of your mother's blood, despite also being of Grima's, you should be able to 'call' it to you. If you do, I am confident that it will come to you, no matter how far away from you it is.'_

' _Then why didn't it come for my mother?' I argued. 'Surely she would have known about that little fact and called to it herself?'_

 _My master looked at me sympathetically. 'I…do not wish to distress you, Little Dragon, but the possible reason for this is that your mother has long since been broken by your father. I'm assuming she's been withdrawn, even when spending time with you?'_

 _I thought back to the times I had been with my mother and realised with a shock of sadness that he was right; while she had always looked at me with love in her eyes, I realised then that she also had a dead look behind the initial love. It made me even more upset as I imagined what cruelty she would have had to endure to end up that way._

' _I swear, I'm gonna make Grima pay for what he's done!' I swore angrily._

' _No; you will leave Grima to me,' my master replied firmly. 'You're only part will be to get you and your mother through the portal once we get to safety.'_

' _Right, gotcha,' I said, saluting slightly. 'So, when do we start?' My master smiled before casually breaking out of his chains and stretching his limbs. 'Oh…well…should I get out of your way so that you can break down the wall?'_

' _If you would,' my master said in amusement._

 _After I had stepped aside, my master took in a breath. He paused and looked at me._

' _Now, as soon as I do this, Grima will know what we're up to and the fact that I've regained a majority of my power,' he informed me. 'When that happens, you will have to be ready.'_

' _Understood!' I replied, slightly nervously as I touched my dragonstone for comfort._

' _Right…here goes…'_

 _The old man braced himself, before kicking the stone wall in front of him. Almost instantly, the wall cracked and burst outwards. We hurried through and I saw my mother sitting bolt upright in the bed that she had been permanently chained to for all of my life._

' _Sahria…' she breathed when she saw me. She then looked at the man beside me. 'Who are you?'_

' _Apologies, Lady Yana, I have been your daughter's mentor for the past few years,' my master replied, bowing to my mother._

' _Ah, yes…she has mentioned a mentor to me a couple of times…' my mother said slowly. She then shook herself and looked around in a panic. 'What are the two of you doing?'_

' _We're getting out of here, mother!' I cried, moving quickly to her side and, with the help of my draconic strength, tore the chains that held my mother apart and freeing her. 'Master says that he can send us back in time so that we can stop Grima from ever being resurrected!_

 _My mother slowly got up from the bed, the rags that she had been wearing falling to pieces around her and giving me more of a look of my mother's body than I wanted; it pained me to see how thin she had been under those rags._

' _Is that truly possible?' she asked uncertainly._

 _My master nodded. 'As long as Robin is prevented from killing Chrom, then yes; this future will be avoided.'_

' _But…won't that mean that Sahria will never be born?' my mother asked quickly. I started when I realised that I hadn't really thought of that possibility._

 _Even so, if stopping Grima meant I had to fade away, then I was prepared to face that sacrifice. When I said as such to my mother, her eyes filled with tears and she drew me into a tender embrace._

' _I'm so proud of you for saying that, Ria,' she whispered, using the nickname she only reserved for when we were alone. She then straightened and held out a hand. 'If that's the case, then we're going to need…this…'_

 _To my surprise, I felt a wave of power come from my mother._

 _Apparently, my master felt it to, for he said, equally surprised, 'I thought that Grima had sealed your powers?'_

' _He only sealed my divine dragon powers,' my mother said, a hint of smugness on her voice. 'He never realised that my ability to call Serenity is actually in my blood, not because of Naga's blessing.'_

' _Of course…how foolish of Grima, then!' my master laughed. 'But then…why haven't you called for it before?'_

' _Because there was no point,' my mother replied sadly. 'Even if I had, Grima would have just threatened Sahria; I couldn't risk my daughter being killed because I tried to resist.'_

 _My hear swelled with love at my mother's words and I hugged her tightly._

' _I love you, mama…' I murmured, reverting to baby speak that I ended up doing when we were alone, not even caring that my master was there to hear it._

 _My mother patted the top of my head. We then looked around when, with a crash and a shower of splinters, my mother's staff Serenity came crashing through the door. It raced into her waiting hand and an aura of peace surrounded my mother. A moment later, golden light encompassed my mother's form, forcing me to step back. Once it had dissipated, I saw to my surprise and happiness that the wounds that had covered my mother's body were now gone and that she stood with a strength that I had never seen._

' _Right, let's get going shall we?' she suggested. 'Sahria, I'm assuming that your master wants you to teleport us out of here?'_

' _Er…yeah, but how did you know?'_

 _My mother laughed, a sound that was music to my ears after never having heard it before. 'Considering that you would most likely have been taught Plegian magic, a lot of it involving teleportation, it was a safe enough assumption. You're father really has been most foolish in the subject matter he's taught you, huh?'_

' _Now is not the time for jokes, Lady Yana,' my master interrupted. 'We really need to get out of here; I sense Grimleal approaching.'_

 _Indeed, I could also hear shouts from the floor below us and so I quickly grabbed my mother and master by an arm._

' _Alright…hold on!' I said quickly before closing my eyes, picturing a location beyond the walls of the city, and saying, '_ _ **Lacus**_ _!'_

 _I felt the familiar cold feeling of the spell taking over before, with a jolt, I opened my eyes to find myself next to an oasis that I had sometimes visited during my flying lessons._

 _My mother fell to her knees and my master tottered in place before the two of them recovered._

' _Wow…never want to do that again,' my mother muttered._

' _Yeah, I think out of the two, flying is much better than that!' my master agreed before rushing to the edge of the oasis and throwing up. 'Erk…apologies…'_

' _Eww, gross!' I cried, wrinkling my nose in disgust._

 _My master threw up again before standing up straight._

' _Okay…I'm good now,' he announced, though he still looked pale. Well, more paler than usual, in any case. 'Now then, once I begin the ritual, the Grimleal won't take long to locate us.' He paused, looking at us seriously. 'Grima will also most likely arrive…can I count on the two of you to be ready for that?'_

 _My mother and I both nodded. My master then turned around, held his hands out, and began chanting in a language neither of us recognised._

 _As he chanted, I found to my surprise my mother pressing Serenity into my hands._

' _Mama…why are you giving me this?' I asked, confused._

 _My mother smiled sadly at me. 'Because I will not be going back with you, Sahria.'_

 _I froze when I heard this and immediately tried to change her mind._

' _But mama; I need you there with me!' I cried, clutching Serenity to my chest as I spoke. 'Why would you say that you can't come with me?'_

 _My mother wrapped her arms around me and sighed. 'Because there will be another me there already,' she explained gently. 'I cannot risk coming into contact with myself; I'm not sure how the rules of time travel work, but I'm fairly certain that there would be ramifications if such an event were to occur.'_

 _I gaped at my mother before wriggling out of her grasp and turning to my master, who I knew was listening despite preparing the spell._

' _You knew she would decide this!' I accused him angrily. 'You knew mama wouldn't come back with me!'_

 _My master was silent for a moment before sighing._

' _I…had an inkling that she would choose this path, yes,' he admitted. 'But there was always the chance that she would decide otherwise, so I didn't wish to get your hopes up for nothing.' He then paused before guiltily saying, '…I will also not be going back…'_

 _At this, I slumped to the ground._

' _B…but I NEED both of you there with me!' I sobbed, my tears darkening the sand beneath me. 'How am I supposed to do this alone?'_

' _You won't be alone, Ria,' my mother said, tears also starting to form in her own eyes as she crouched and embraced me again. 'As long as you have your memories of us, then we will live on inside them…and you…'_

' _But I want the PHYSICAL you, mama!' I cried, burying my face against her neck. 'What use are memories if I can't cuddle you?'_

 _Before my mother could reply, my master let out a grunt and a swirling vortex of light blue magic slowly appeared._

' _It is done,' he announced tiredly. He then rubbed a hand over his face. 'Damn…that took more of my power than I thought.'_

' _Go on, Ria,' my mother whispered. 'Go and change the fate of all those who suffered during this timeline…'_

' _Speaking of which, there is a chance that your daughter won't cease to exist if Grima is thwarted,' my master spoke up. 'Even if he is, Sahria is of THIS timeline; going back will make a completely new timeline, and in that one, she should be safe.'_

' _Are you sure?' my mother asked hopefully._

 _My master hesitated before replying, 'Admittedly…no; there is always the possibility that she WILL fade away if Grima is defeated. But I'd rather focus on the more positive outcome than the negative one, yes?'_

' _Of course,' my mother replied. 'If that's the case, then I shall wish with all my strength for the positive outcome.'_

' _WAIT!' I cried then. 'You're seriously just ignoring the fact that I CAN'T DO THIS WITHOUT YOU?' I screamed the last part, hoping to shake them out of their decision._

' _I'm sorry, Little Dragon, but our minds are made up,' my master said firmly, though I could see the sadness in his expression when he spoke. 'Now go, before Grima…'_

' _Before Grima…what?' a smooth voice filled with fury asked._

 _All three of us looked up and saw to our horror my father hovering above us, his arms crossed and a look of such pure anger that I almost admitted defeat then and there. However, my mother and master both moved to stand in front of me, glaring up at the white haired man._

' _Sahria…go…' my mother said steadily, not looking back at me._

' _But mama…' I replied hesitantly._

' _GO!' she cried forcefully, her voice quivering as she fought back tears. 'Save the world!'_

' _She will be saving nothing, my love,' my father hissed. 'I will spare you and our daughter, but the both of you will still have to be punished severely for this foolishness!'_

' _You've already punished me enough, Grima!' my mother shot back. 'There is nothing more you can do to me that hasn't already broken my heart!'_

 _As my mother confronted Grima, my master looked over his shoulder at me._

' _Why are you still here, Sahria?' he demanded. 'Do as your mother said and GO!'_

' _I won't let her!' my father roared and flew down towards me, hands outstretched._

 _As I tried to scurry backwards, my master was suddenly in the way. Holding out his right hand, he summoned a fireball and hurled it at my father, forcing him to dodge out of the way. Unfortunately for him, my mother was there waiting for him._

' _This is for my daughter!' she bellowed._

 _My mother then grew a pair of feathery wings and was surrounded by an aura of soft blue light. When she reached my father, an orb of magic surrounded him and she kicked it, along with my father inside, several metres away._

 _She then flew towards me and grabbed me, even as my father came roaring back._

' _For the last time, Sahria, GO!' she cried and dropped me off in front of the portal._

 _As I hesitated again, my father appeared behind her and, with a snarl, impaled my mother with the sword he had drawn from the depths of his cloak._

' _MAMA!' I screamed as I looked at her pained face in horror._

' _Erk…it's fine…Ria…' she growled._

' _I don't know how you broke the seals, Naga, but I will make sure to completely purge you from my wife's body!' my father growled._

' _N…Naga…?' I repeated and my mother…no, NAGA, smiled at me before pulling herself off of the blade and turned to face the man who had stabbed her._

' _Yes, Grima, did you really think that you could keep my soul sealed forever?' she said in a serene voice. 'Serenity took care of that for me.'_

' _Curse that staff, and curse you, you bitch!' Grima howled and attempted to strike Naga down._

 _He was stopped when my master grabbed his arm before he could complete the attack._

' _Careful, there's a child here!' he growled and punched my father full in the face, launching the howling man back._

 _He then sent a wave of power towards me and, with a start, I found myself falling towards its swirling depths._

' _Remember, Little Dragon; prevent Robin from betraying Chrom!' he shouted, even as my vision began to black out. As it faded, I swore I saw my master's hair flash green for a moment before my father was upon him._

' _YOU!' I heard him roar, though his cry sounded muffled. 'I KILLED YOU…!'_

 _The next thing I knew I was falling through the air before impacting against the sands of a deserted beach._

()()()()()()()()

There was silence in the still smouldering clearing when Sahria finished speaking. The younger manakete looked nervously at her master as she awaited his response to the tale of how she had come to be in their timeline.

'Huh…' Raye eventually said slowly. 'Well…huh…'

'Is that all you've got to say, master?' Sahria asked hesitantly.

'Hey, give me a moment to process this!' Raye protested. 'It's not every day your apprentice turns out to be from the future!'

Sahria giggled and nestled herself into Raye's arms, the older manakete not resisting as she did.

Raye then sighed. 'Alright, I suppose you being from the future would explain why I've never felt a presence like your before…although…there is one thing that I'm a little confused about…'

'What's that, master?'

'Robin's a girl…'

Sahria blinked up at Raye, who blinked right back.

'What?' she eventually asked.

'The tactician that we've been travelling?' Raye replied. 'The one who is apparently Grima's vessel? The WHITE haired person that you must have seen and met by now?' Sahria nodded dumbly. 'Oh for the love of…that woman that's been with us, being the TACTICIAN, that's Robin!'

'WHAT?' Sahria shrieked.

'How do you not know that?' Raye demanded. 'Almost ALL of the Shepherds have referred to her by 'Robin', plus she's the tactician, PLUS she has WHITE freaking hair!' He looked down at her disbelievingly. 'Are you seriously telling me that, even with your future knowledge, you didn't realise that THAT woman was Robin?'

'Hey, to be fair, the Robin of my time was a GUY!' Sahria cried, embarrassed.

'But it was blatantly obvious…no, no…you're right,' Raye sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. 'I guess expecting Robin to be a man, when your Robin was, indirectly, your father, is to be understandable.' He then shook his head. 'So who the hell did you think she was until now?'

'I dunno…Robin's predecessor who died before he took over?' Sahria suggested. 'It never occurred to me that not only would my former master's spell take me back in time, it would also send me into a different world entirely, where my father is actually…my mother…?' Her head spun. 'Wait…does that mean that, in this timeline Chrom is my father, which would mean that I would be a product of incest between TWINS…which would mean…'

'Why the hell would you immediately assume that?' Raye grunted. 'Obviously it would meant that Robin would still be your parent, only that she would be your mother and Chrom would be your father…' It was Raye's turn to get a slight headache. 'But…you look so much like your mother when she was growing up, now that I look at you closely with the knowledge I've gained…your mother can ONLY be Yana.'

'I look like mother when she was my age?' Sahria asked interestedly.

'Yep, down to the cheekiness and everything,' Raye confirmed. He then smiled slightly. 'You know, it really should have been obvious, now that I think about it; apart from your white hair, which does still have blue colouring to it admittedly, and your purple eyes, all of the evidence was there.' He face palmed. 'I really AM getting old.'

Sahria giggled. 'Aw, don't worry too much about it, master; we both didn't see the evidence of a person's true identity until now!'

Raye grunted. He then said, 'Well, now that I know, I should probably keep an eye on our Robin.' He paused. 'I don't think it would be a good idea to tell her, either; it could cause problems of anyone were to find out.'

'Good idea, master,' Sahria nodded. 'Actually, I'd decided not to say anything about it either, but I'm glad we're on the same page!'

Raye studied her. 'And what about your mother; are you planning on telling her who you really are eventually?'

Sahria looked down and fiddled with the sleeve of Raye's undershirt.

'No…' she sighed eventually. 'As much as I want to, it would only cause both of us pain…'

'Hmm…I don't think it would, but if that's your decision, then I'll help keep your secret,' Raye said.

'Thanks, master.'

The two manaketes remained there, their arms wrapped around each other, for a few more minutes before Raye ended the embrace and stood up after making sure that Sahria was also able to stand.

'Right, we'd better get back before your mother gets worried,' he said. 'You able to fly?'

'Yeah, Serenity healed the wounds the Plegians inflicted on me,' Sahria nodded and picked up her staff, securing it to her back. 'Ready when you are, master.'

With a nod, the two manaketes transformed and, with a flap of their wings, rose into the air. They hovered there for a moment before winging their way back in the direction Ylisstol, leaving behind a scorched clearing that was already beginning to show signs of regrowth.

()()()()()()()()

 _Okay, so that's Sahria's origins explained._

 _So, how did you find it? Was it too much? Too little? I'm interested to know your thoughts in any case._

 _As for the old man who was Sahria's previous master, he may very well turn up again in a later chapter. I'm undecided as to whether I should include him again, or whether I should just let his story end in this chapter. His identity, for the moment, will also remain a mystery…_

 _For those of you who might be curious,_ _ **Lacus**_ _means transport in Latin, at least that's what Google translate tells me. If anyone knows otherwise, please let me know._

 _Ciao for now!_


	14. Chapter 12

_Shorter chapter this time, in which the Ylisstol Council doubt Raye's ability. Just thought you should know. Not exactly critical to the story as a whole, so you can skip this one without really missing out on much._

()()()()()()()

-Chapter Twelve- Doubts and Misunderstandings Rectified-

'Surely that manakete of yours is jesting!' one noble cried, looking very disconcerted. 'Grima has been dead for a thousand years!'

'Indeed, there is no chance that he would return…right?' another muttered hopefully.

It had been nearly an hour since Raye had burst into the throne room with the shocking news that he had somehow felt the presence of Grima. In the wake of this and after he had left soon after, the throne room had descended into chaos, the nobles all immediately trying to deny the manakete's words while Emmeryn and Chrom tried to restore order.

As the argument escalated, Emmeryn was forced to stand up from her throne and let out a most unladylike, piercing whistle to calm everyone down.

'Peace, friends, peace!' she cried, before sitting back down on her throne and waiting for their attention to be focused onto her. 'While I do agree that it seems unlikely that Grima is returning, we must remember that Lord Raye is a manakete; if anyone were to recognise the Felldragon's presence, surely it would be one of their kind?' She looked around then, seeing expressions ranging from grudging agreement to outright denial. 'And also, if we are to believe his parting words, Lord Raye himself even battled Grima, another reason why he might recognise our ancient foe's presence.'

'Yes, but that simply cannot be!' a noble argued in reply. He then spread his arms and looked around at all those gathered there. 'We all know how it was Divine Naga, along with the First Exalt Lissandra, but we have never heard of the presence of another dragon who fought by their side during that harrowing time!' H then scoffed. 'From what the records say most, if not ALL, of the other divine dragons and manaketes had perished or left out world by that point, the exception of course being the Voice of Naga!'

'Indeed, and by his own admission Lord Raye failed in his battle against the Felldragon!' another noble nodded in agreement to his fellow's words. 'Although, I suppose he might have meant that he fought Grima _before_ he became a threat to the world, in which case can we really be expected to depend on Lord Raye's so-called strength?' His last words had a mocking undertone to them, something that Yana immediately caught onto and was angered by.

'Excuse me, but Raye had protected Rielet Village for centuries before I was even born!' she snapped hotly. 'All through my childhood, I've known him to be exceedingly competent and trustworthy, certainly someone I would not hesitate to call on should a crisis occur!'

'Perhaps once he was, but your village was destroyed after he had left; what does that show of his credibility!'

At this, silence descended in the room as Yana froze and Chrom and Lissa glared at the man who had just spoken; the subject of Rielet was still a touchy subject for their sister, Yana only being comfortable discussing it with her friends that had managed to survive her village's destruction.

'How dare you…!' Chrom began furiously but was interrupted when Yana held up a hand to forestall his words.

'It's okay, Chrom, he's right,' she said calmly before turning to the noble. 'Yes, Rielet was destroyed after he left, but I'd like to point out the most crucial part of that statement; AFTER he had left.' She looked pointedly at the man before continuing. 'According to a friend of mine, the Plegians only attacked after they were certain that he had left, meaning that they may have known about his presence and, if they were, rightfully feared him.'

'I was under the impression that your village was attacked even before that?' the noble argued. 'Was it not the very reason why the head cleric of your village sent you here in the first place; to seek aid?' It was his turn to look pointedly at Yana. 'Does that not suggest that she did not have much confidence in Lord Raye's abilities?'

Yana hesitated for a moment before replying, 'Yes…but it was at Raye's advice that she sent me; he even decided to escort me here personally!'

'Ah, so it was Lord Raye himself who doubted his own ability to protect your village?' the noble said triumphantly, leaping on Yana's words. 'If that is the case, why should we feel differently? Even more damning, the fact that, from what YOU have said, the Plegian's knew about his presence, meaning that someone from your own village had decided to betray him! Perhaps they attacked under the impression that he was still there; perhaps their intent was to slay h…'

The noble's words were cut off as Yana, an angry look on her face, stepped forward and slapped him across the face.

'I have had enough of your words, you…you…JERKFACE!' she seethed, resorting to using one of Sahria's favourite insults. 'While I understand your reasoning, and recognise the POSSIBILITY of your words being true, don't you EVER accuse Raye as being the reason why the Plegians attacked and destroyed my village!' She took a shaky breath before continuing. 'He may not show it, but the destruction of Rielet weighs heavily on him; he built the village from the ground up himself and allowed humans to live in it after all! I would be insulting him, as well as all those who had lived in Rielet of the ages, if I were to blame him for its destruction and even allow the thought to cross my mind! Losing the village must have felt like losing a part of himself!'

'You are being naïve, _Princess_ Yana!' the aggrieved noble snapped. 'You are letting your own personal history with the man from entertaining the possibility that the man you always saw as your protector is simply not strong enough to protect you anymore!'

Yana let out a strangled cry and raised her hand to slap the noble again, but Chrom quickly leapt forward and grabbed her arm before it descended. He then gently passed her over to Lissa, who quickly put her arms around her angrily shaking sister, before he faced the noble with a deceptively calm look on his face.

'Lord Bhelen…' he began. '…perhaps you are not aware of how we secured the alliance with the Feroxi?' The noble looked confused and opened his mouth but Chrom cut him off. 'Since that is clearly the case, both for you and a few others I suspect, then allow me to educate you; we were only able to gain their assistance after RAYE, the man you are foolishly calling weak due to a probably LOND past failure, single-handedly took on nearly thirty warriors personally chosen by the then ruling Khan in a contest to decide the next Great Khan.' He let his words sink in before continuing. 'Naturally, such warriors would have to be the best of the best, correct? Raye himself even mentioned that one such warrior had a weapon that was able to threaten him.' Chrom did not reveal the fact that the warrior in question went by the name 'Marth' and wielded a weapon that looked disturbingly like his own. 'And do you know what I was witness to? I saw one man tear through those thirty opponents as easily as if he were on a simple stroll, exhibiting power that I'd never seen or FELT before! One of my own Shepherds, a mage of no small power herself, was awestruck by the power that we all felt radiating from the man that you seem to be referring to as 'weak'.'

'I'll tell you something else…' Chrom continued after a short pause. 'Khans Basilio and Flavia and myself inspected the arena after the match; we found that the very ground itself was cracked in several places, and the arena walls were crumbling, something which bother khans told me was not the arena's state before Raye stepped into it. Miriel, the Shepherd mage I just mentioned, also informed me that she detected a still very potent residual of magical energy; indeed, I had to physically drag her away from the arena to stop her from staying there for most likely an entire week to study the phenomenon.' The prince stared directly at the noble then. 'If you still think of Raye as weak, then that's your prerogative; I myself choose to trust in him, and in my sister's words. I implore you to do the same.' He then grinned. 'Of course, you could always take up the issue with Raye himself, though I warn you that you may have to be prepared to run away from him as soon as you voiced your concerns.'

After this surprisingly passionate speech, the noble gaped at him, uncomfortably aware of the smirk on Yana's face and the eyes now pointed at him.

'Perhaps…perhaps I was hasty in my opinion…' the man eventually muttered before excusing himself and nearly bolting out of the room.

After he had left, Chrom felt Yana's arms embrace him from behind and her head come to rest on his shoulders.

'Thank you, Chrom,' she whispered into his ear. 'I fear that if you hadn't stepped in I would certainly have punched the man in his stupid face…'

'Hey, what are twin brothers for?' Chrom joked as he reached around and patted her on the head. 'I also see that you've been spending some time with Sahria; really, using such language like that? What are people going to think of their new princess?'

'Oh, shush you,' Yana giggled. 'I'm still annoyed that people even know about who I am! I really hope you found out who spilled the beans; I wish to have words with them…fair, non-violent words of course.'

'Riiight…' Chrom scoffed, smiling. 'In any case, I was more than happy to defend Raye against that fool's accusations; I've seen the kind of man he is and I must say that I am certainly impressed, manakete origins notwithstanding.'

'Speaking of which, you forgot to mention the fact that your Brand burned when Raye fought,' Lissa scolded him playfully.

'Oh, yeah…eh, that was probably just due to feeling his power,' Chrom replied, shrugging.

However, at his words, Emmeryn frowned. 'You didn't tell me that, Chrom.'

'Does it matter?'

The Exalt's frown deepened. 'I'm not sure...it's just that a few weeks ago my own brand burned. Not uncomfortably, mind you, but at the time I thought it was a headache; it was only until later that I realised that the source had in fact been my brand.'

'Okay, that is odd,' Chrom mused. He then felt that Yana had tightened her grip around him and he winced. 'Er, Yana? You're a little tight with your hug there.'

'Sorry…' Yana said quickly and stepped back, avoiding looking at Chrom as he turned to look over his shoulder at her. _'Damn, this is awkward…my brand, too, burned during that fight, but I know why…please Naga, don't let them ask…'_

Unfortunately for Yana, her twin brother seemingly borrowed a part of Robin's intuition and looked at her suspiciously.

'Yana…did you brand also burn when Raye was fighting?' he asked, crossing his arms and looking sternly at his sister.

'Er…no…?' Yana mumbled, still avoiding Chrom's stare. Internally, she cursed the fact that she was very bad at hiding secrets from those she was close with when they confronted her about them.

'Yana…tell the truth…'

At the rising firmness in her brother's words, Yana quickly gave in and cried 'Okay, yes; my brand also burned!'

Chrom studied his sister as she stood there looking almost endearingly guiltily at the floor.

'You know why, don't you?' he said after a while. When he saw Yana nod smally, he raised an eyebrow. 'Care to share?'

'…You're not going to let this go, are you?' Yana asked, slightly hopefully. Her hopes were dashed as soon as Chrom let out a short shake of his head.

'No, no I'm not,' he replied. 'And don't think that you can be all cute to try and distract me from this; only Lissa has really mastered that technique, and even then it only works rarely these days.'

'Hey…' Lissa pouted as Yana sighed in defeat.

'Very well, just...please don't pester Raye about it afterwards; he'll be terribly annoyed if you did,' Yana sighed. Chrom nodded and gestured for her to continue.

Taking a breath, Yana said, 'The reason why our brands might have…DID…burn when Raye unleashed his power is because…' she swallowed nervously before continuing. '…because he's…actually the son of Naga…'

Silence once again engulfed the throne room after Yana's words.

'Er…mind repeating that again, sis?' Chrom asked, disturbingly calmly after several minutes had passed, during which he had simply stared at his twin silently.

'Raye is the son of Naga…' Yana repeated, sighing again as she waited for what she knew was coming.

It didn't take long for her prediction to be proven.

'EXCUSE ME?!' Chrom yelped, finally letting go of himself and allowing a completely shocked look to take over all of his previous expressions. 'He, as in RAYE; the guy that we, the Shepherds, have been treating as one of own, the very guy who almost behaves like stubborn child…THAT GUY…is the son of Naga?!' He breathed deeply for a moment before pacing. 'As in NAGA, the Divine Dragon herself, the very being who is responsible for our family line, saving the world itself on several occasions, and is now basically our patron deity? That Naga? That man is that being's son? As in her child that she gave birth to? HER SON?'

'Chrom, calm down!' Yana hurriedly implored him, stepping towards her brother and grabbing his arm to stop his pacing. 'This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you! Raye even asked me not to tell you; he wanted to avoid a situation exactly like this!'

'Oh, I'm sorry!' Chrom cried, almost hysterically. 'Excuse me for not freaking out that, all this time, the man that we've been travelling with, joking with, TRAINING with, is, in fact, the SON OF A GOD!' He then pointed at Lissa, who looked very embarrassed for some reason. 'For his mother's sakes, Lissa asked him, point blank, if you and he were lovers! It doesn't even matter that she was just teasing you, the implications of her words…HE'S HER SON!'

At Chrom's words, Lissa had buried her face in her hands while Yana rolled her eyes. Yana then turned to look up at Emmeryn, who had remained silent with a blank look on her face on her throne ever since Raye's connection to Naga had been revealed.

'Emm, please tell our brother to calm…down…' Yana's words died out as she saw the expression on her older sister's face.

At Yana's words, Emmeryn started before she looked down at her faintly. 'Sorry, Yana…I fear that I too am feeling quite shocked…'

'Oh for…why does it even matter who Raye's mother is?' Yana cried in frustration. 'Yes, he's the son of the basis for our whole religion, but that doesn't mean that he's any more or less of a man than the next person!' Even as she said this, though, she cringed internally as she knew that her words were completely false. 'Okay…fine, I get that what I just said is completely idiotic, but still…he's still same person as he was before!'

'Except that he's the son of NAGA!' Chrom yelled.

Before Yana could reply, there was a sudden sigh from the door to the throne room. All those present turned to see the very subject of their conversation leaning against the doorframe, with a younger manakete peeking around the doorframe next to him.

'Hey, master…are you really the son of Naga?' she asked then in the awkward silence.

Yana mimicked Lissa and buried her face in her hands, sinking to a crouch as Chrom, Emmeryn and the nobles stared at Raye, who rolled his eyes.

'As much as I'd love to stand around here and subject myself to this undivided attention, I think I'm gonna leave,' the manakete muttered, pushing himself off of the doorframe and making to leave with Sahria. 'Just thought you guys might like to know that the Plegian's might be about to attack Ylisstol.'

At this revelation, Chrom snapped out of his reverie and asked quickly, 'Are you sure?'

'Pretty sure, yeah, at least that's what Sahria said,' Raye replied over his shoulder. 'Now, if it's all the same to you, I think I'm going to watch out for any suspicious activity. Feel free to double the guard around the city and the Exalt; she's most likely their target.'

With that, Raye left, Sahria giving the stunned royals and nobles a cheerful wave before following him.

'W…WAIT!' Chrom cried, hurrying after the two manaketes as Frederick and Yana followed.

In the wake of their departure, Emmeryn looked down as she felt Lissa sit herself onto her older sister's lap and rest her head on her chest.

'Emm…our family's weird…' the pig-tailed princess said in blank voice.

Emmeryn rubbed her head sympathetically.

'Yes…yes it is…'

()()()()()()()()

 _Two chapters in a row where two characters' secrets are revealed…they really do have the worst luck, don't they?_

 _I felt that the whole 'everyone with the Brand of the Exalt had their brands burn during Raye's fight' moment needed to be addressed, and so it has. Raye himself had also dropped several unintentional hints as to his origins, so it was only a matter of time until someone cottoned on to it._

 _Next chapter will return, somewhat, to the base game events, in that it will follow the events of Chapter 6: Foreseer. Of course, 'Marth' will have to deal with the presence of three people who she never even knew of._

 _Look out for Tiki in that chapter as well, since she is quickly closing in._

 _Ciao for now!_


	15. Chapter 13

-Chapter Thirteen –Foreseer's Irony-

Chrom was pacing in the darkened courtyard of the Ylisstol palace, Robin watching him silently from where she was leaning against a tree.

'I mean…surely it is…blasphemous to have the son of Naga in the Shepherds?' he burst out suddenly. The prince was still dealing with the revelation that Raye was actually the child of Ylisse's deity; he wasn't dealing with it very well. 'Should I ask him if he wants to move into the castle? Do we reveal who he is to the church?' He froze. 'Oh gods…the church; if they hear about this…'

'Chrom…shut up,' Robin interrupted him sternly. She pushed herself away from the tree and moved to stand in front of Chrom, hands on her hips as she stared at him until he met her eyes. 'Now listen; as Yana said, this is exactly why Raye told her not to tell anyone of his secret. You're overreacting and it's kinda getting really old, really fast!' She cupped his face in her hands then. 'So please, for the love of my sanity…CALM THE HELL DOWN!'

'But…but…he's…' Chrom spluttered in protest, blushing slightly at Robin's touch but deep down enjoying it.

Robin sighed in annoyance. 'Yes, he's the freaking son of Naga, I get it!' She brought her face closer to Chrom's so that she was now only an inch or two away from it. 'Chrom; is Raye still the same man who's been Yana's friend since you've met them?' Chrom nodded mutely, his cheeks even more red now that the tactican's face, and more importantly her lips, were so close. 'And is he still someone who you can trust to fight alongside you?' As he nodded again, Chrom became aware once again of the smell of lavenders and roses coming from Robin. 'Alright…then what does it matter that he may or may not be the son of Naga? Surely who he is NOW is more important than who is could be? Understand?'

'Er…I think so…?' Chrom replied hesitantly.

'Oh for…I'm saying that RIGHT NOW Raye is simply a fellow Shepherd!' Robin sighed. 'Nothing more, nothing less; can you be satisfied with that?'

Chrom calmed down at the tactician's words and nodded sheepishly. 'Yeah, those are words I can get behind.'

Nodding with satisfaction, Robin let go of Chrom's face, much to the prince's slight disappointment.

'I really was annoying you, huh?' he joked.

Robin grinned. 'Yep, but I'm glad that I managed to talk some sense into you.' She touched Chrom's arm. 'Just make sure you never REALLY annoy me, yeah?'

'I'll try to adhere to that!'

As Chrom and Robin laughed, there came an awkward cough from behind the prince. The pair turned around and saw, much to their surprise, the blue haired swordsman Marth.

'Erm…am I interrupting something?' the man asked, though Robin thought that she could detect a small smile on the man's face.

'Marth! This is a surprise!' Chrom commented, cocking his head at the man in front of him and frowning. 'No, you weren't but why are you here? Actually, HOW did you get past the guards?'

'I snuck in through the whole in the west wall.'

Chrom grimaced in embarrassment at Marth's words.' How do you…never mind. In any case, you haven't answered the first question; why are you here?'

Math didn't verbally reply at first, instead choosing to draw his sword. Seeing this, Chrom narrowed his eyes and put his hand on Falchion's hilt.

'So, was this always your true intention?' he asked sternly. 'Were you always going to come here and assassinate me?'

'I did intend to come here, yes,' Marth replied. 'But not for you…for HIM!'

With that, Marth charged past Chrom and struck down the man who had been about to plunge his sword through the prince's back. As Chrom and Robin recoiled, the man's fell dead to the floor, Marth's own sword having slashed a deep cut across his chest.

Making sure that the man really was deceased, Marth then turned around, sheathing his weapon.

'I trust that this little display has earned me a little trust and a bit of your time?' he asked.

Before Chrom could answer, another assassin leaped out of the bushes, shouting in anger and sending a strike at Marth. The man gasped and backpeddled, but tripped over the body of the man he had already killed. He managed to avoid the attack, but the assassin's blade still cut through something, namely his mask.

As Marth's mask fell to the ground, it was Chrom's turn to charge forward. With a singly swipe of his Falchion, the prince gutted the assassin, stepping back as his target's body collapsed to the ground at his feet.

Sheathing his weapon, he turned to make sure that Marth was uninjured, but paused in surprise at what he saw.

'Wait…you're a…woman…?' he mumbled, completely taken-aback.

'And quite the actress too, it seems,' Marth, the now revealed woman, smiled. She then looked questioningly at Robin, who had let out a snort of laughter. 'Er…is something amiss, my lady?'

'Believe it or not, this isn't the first time Chrom hasn't seen a woman's…womanliness,' the tactician chortled.

'Hey, you didn't know either!' Chrom whined in protest, going red as he remembered the time he had foolishly told Robin he hadn't seen her as a woman. Now, however, he had since begun to notice that she was, in fact, a woman, something he was never going to tell her for fear of another rock assault.

'Yeah, but its way funnier in your case!' Robin sniggered.

'Apologies, but if I could perhaps have your attention for a moment again?' Marth interrupted awkwardly. When she saw that the pair's attentions were back on her she continued. 'I came to warn you about an imminent attack by the Plegians!'

'What? Oh, we already know,' Chrom replied. 'In fact, that was partly why I was so surprised that you were here; we've doubled the guard around the palace.'

'You…know…HOW?' Marth cried in surprise and protest; she HAD wondered why there were so many guards patrolling the streets of the city as she had snuck through the night.

'Two of the Shepherds found the Plegians that attack Duke Themis's estate and informed us that they might attack Ylisstol,' Chrom explained, slightly taken aback by Marth's surprise. 'Actually, one of them was the manakete that you fought back in Ferox.'

'Oh…well, I suppose I should be grateful then,' Marth muttered. She then frowned. 'But who was the other Shepherd with him? And why would you only send two people out to find the Plegians? Surely that was extremely dangerous!'

'Right, you wouldn't know,' Chrom replied in realisation. 'We'd actually picked up another manakete before we'd made it to Ferox and Raye had 'volunteered' to be her mentor, but he was still adamant about fighting that battle by himself. Anyway, a few hours ago…'

'Wait, ANOTHER manakete?' Marth interrupted, her eyes wide as she stared at Chrom.

'…Yeah…anyway, back to what I was saying before…' Chrom frowned. 'Raye came rushing into the throne room saying that he had felt the Felldragon Grima's presence, left, and an hour later returned with the news of the Plegians' possible movements.'

'This Raye…he felt Grima's presence?' Marth whispered, going cold.

'Yeah, funny story; it actually turns out that…'

Chrom's words were interrupted by an explosion that seemed to come from the palace. When the three heard it, they immediately rushed for the door that led into the castle.

'Let's perhaps save your words for later!' Marth cried as she drew her sword.

'Good idea!'

()()()()()()()

Meanwhile, at the ruins of the Far Fort Tiki had just discovered the remains of the fort and had landed. Transforming back into her human form, she could immediately feel the remnants of powerful magic, though they were now slowly dissipating. Judging by the familiar feel to the magic, Tiki knew that it's source was the same presence she had felt weeks before.

'What happened here?' she mumbled to herself, kneeling and touching the ground. 'This magic…it could only have come from a divine dragon and, judging by the fact that it still lingers, a powerful one at that…maybe one as powerful as mother…'

The manakete quickly looked up when she heard a rustle in the bushes, her hand going to the pouch that held her dragonstone, but relaxed when she saw a villager, clearly of Ylisse, walk into view.

The villager, an elderly man, was followed by several others and a cart pulled by a horse. When they saw Tiki, they froze for a moment.

'Er…can we help yer, milady?' the elderly man asked cautiously after a moment.

'Yes…do you know what happened here?' Tiki asked, getting to her feet and approaching the group of villagers.

'Oh…well, this was the work of them Shepherds!' the man replied, smiling slightly. 'They recently came and rescued us folk from a group a dastards, but the village had already been destroyed. Now, we got to thinkin'…since that dragon man of theirs destroyed the fort, why let all tha' masonry go to waste? So then we's…'

'Dragon man?' Tiki interrupted hurriedly. 'Tell me about this dragon man?'

The villager looked slightly put out that she had interrupted him, but explained nevertheless. 'Well, he was quite tall…per'aps an inch or so taller than yourself, he 'ad golden eyes and…well, green hair also like yours.' The man looked at her closely. 'Say…yer also a manakete, ain't ya; ya got the ears of one, now that I looks at yer.'

'Yes, I am a manakete as well,' Tiki replied, anxious to return back to the subject of the mystery dragon. 'But what else can you tell be about the other one? What was his dragon form like, for instance, if you saw it?'

'Oh, I don't think I'm gonna forget the sight a 'is dragon form!' the man remarked. ''Im and the other one neither!'

'Wait, there was another manakete with him…nevermind, just tell me about the we were already discussing, please!'

'Right…well, 'e 'ad red scalin', them golden eyes, though much bigger of course, four legs, a really long tail, two absolutely massive wings and two 'orns above 'is eyes!' The man let out a whistle of admiration as he thought back on the sight of the man's dragon form. 'I tells ya, if that man 'ad been with the bandits, I reckon we wouldna stood a chance, even if the Shepherds 'ad come…hey, you alright lady?' The man trailed off as he noticed that Tiki had gone absolutely still as he described the manakete man.

'Um…d…did he give you a name?' she asked, shaking herself as at the man's words.

'Er…from what I know, 'is name was…' the man screwed up his face as he tried to remember. 'Oh, yeah, 'is name was Raye!'

'Raye…oh, of course he would be using that name…' Tiki mumbled, a look of pure joy slowly creeping onto her face. 'Even though it's been so long, you couldn't let go of the name mother gave you…could you Fyrayus?'

'Er…you 'right?'

Tiki looked up and gave the man a radiant smile that nearly gave him a heart attack at the purity of it. 'Yes, I am absolutely fantastic!' She then grabbed the man's hands and twirled the both of them around for a moment before letting go and stepping back. 'Thank you, mister, really! One more question; do you know where he or the Shepherds are?'

'I…I believe that they went back to the capitol, milady,' the old man spluttered, head still reeling from Tiki's joy. 'Couldn't 'ave been more than a day ago, I reckon.'

With that, Tiki transformed back into her dragon form and, with a roar of happiness, leapt into the air and sped in the direction of the capitol.

Watching her go, the villagers were left feeling dumbfounded.

'…Them dragon folk sure are an odd bunch…' the elderly leader of the villagers sighed eventually before returning to the business at hand. 'Right you lot, let's get these stones back to the village!'

()()()()()()

In the palace of Ylisstol, guards and various Shepherds were locked in furious combat with the forces of Plegia, who had used their magic to teleport themselves directly into the castle.

'Damn, why didn't we think they would do that!' Chrom growled as he beheaded a Plegian that had charged screaming at him.

'Milord, keep your focus on the task at hand!' Frederick grunted as he impaled a mage on his spear.

'Right.'

The two men were currently standing in protectively in front of the door that led to Emmeryn's rooms, the exalt herself having been immediately escorted there when the attack had begun. Luckily, she had been surrounded by guards and Shepherds at the time, so when the Plegians had suddenly teleported into the throne room they had found not a helpless target as they had expected, by alert opponents who, even though they had frozen for a second, had engaged them in close combat and given Chrom and Frederick time to get Emmeryn to safety.

Now, Emmeryn was being protected by Sahria, Lissa and Lon'qu, Raye having ordered his apprentice to stay by the Exalt's side while Chrom had practically thrown Lissa into the room after Emmeryn before locking the door. Since Lon'qu had also recently been instructed to be Lissa's bodyguard, the Feroxi swordsman had quietly followed her, keeping as far a distance as he could spare from the three women he found himself locked inside a room with.

'Are they going to be alright?' Lissa asked anxiously of no one in particular as she listened to the sounds of combat outside.

'Yeah, they'll be fine!' Sahria assured her cheerfully. 'With my master and Prince Chrom, as well as Lady Robin orchestrating our side's tactics, they won't lose!'

()()()()()()()()

In the throne room, Stahl, Sumia, Sully and Vaike were finishing off the few surviving Plegians who had been part of the initial teleporting assault.

'Ha, Teach reckons he killed way more than the three of ya combined!' Vaike boasted loudly as he cleaved a man in half at the waist before stomping the man's skull with his boot.

'You serious right now?!' Sully complained, sidestepping a myrmidon's strike and thrusting her spear into his abdomen.

'Hey, don't hate the Vaike, hate the Plegians!'

()()()()()()()

In another part of the castle, Virion found himself fighting alongside Robin, Ricken and Maribelle. The archer and the two mages had ran into a group of Plegians as they rounded a corner and had immediately moved to stand in front of the troubadour.

'Ladies, do not worry; the archest of archers shall win the day in your name!' Virion sang as he let loose an arrow and burying it into his target's skull.

'You idiot, it's night time!' Robin yelled as she shot a lightning bolt at a Plegian who had been trying to get at Maribelle. 'You alright, Maribelle?'

'Yes, thank you for your intervention!' the blonde noblewoman breathed.

'Hey, I'm helping too, guys!' Ricken said then, sounding both shocked and slightly pleased when he managed to hit one of the Plegians with a wind spell; so far, the young mage had missed the majority of his spells.

'Yes, good work, Ricken!' Robin praised, knowing how much landing a hit meant to the mage.' Keep it up and we'll have this finished in no time!'

'But…what about me, milady?' Virion whined even as he sent two arrows into the eye slits of a charging knight.

'Just shut up and keep shooting, you idiot!'

()()()()()()()()

Meanwhile, Yana found herself surrounded by a group of five myrmidons. As they all rushed at her, she closed her eyes and concentrated, thrusting a hand out. What she hadn't told Chrom, mainly because she hadn't used it in a long time, was that she was also able to create a small bubble of magical energy that was able to repel attackers.

Opening her eyes, she saw to her relief that the familiar shimmer of white light was surrounding her, having knocked the Plegians to the ground as it activated. Now her problem was that she was effectively stuck, since she needed all of her concentration to keep the magic activated; they couldn't get at her, but neither was she able to attack back or even move. Even worse, Yana knew that this ability, similar to her wide ranging healing ability, drained her energy at a fast rate.

' _Damn, what do I do now?'_ she thought to herself in a panic.

Her answer came in the form of Kellam and an unfamiliar ginger man. Kellam charged though at three of the myrmidons, knocking them all to the ground before impaling them one by one where they lay. The ginger man, leaping and dodging lithely while all the while sucking on a lollipop, eventually cut the throats of the two others.

'Yana, are you alright?' Kellam rumbled in concern, the ginger starting at his voice and squinting at where the knight stood.

'Geez, I forgot you were there, Turtle!' the ginger exclaimed when he saw the hazy outline of the knight.

'Turtle…?'

'Yeah, cos ya look like one in that seriously large armour of yours!' the ginger replied as Yana deactivated her magic and sunk, trembling, to the ground. With a look of concern, the man gently lifted her up by the arm and dusted her off. 'You alright there, Bubbles?'

'Yeah, I'm alright…wait…Bubbles?' Yana asked, uncertain if she had heard right. She then went red and immediately covered her chest with her hands. 'Wait…if you called Kellam 'Turtle' because he looks like one, then did you call me 'Bubbles' because of my…'

'What? Oh, gods no!' the ginger haired man hurriedly denied, his lollipop falling to the ground as he defended himself. 'Aw, damn…anyway, the name's Gaius and I called you Bubbles because you were in that bubble!'

'Oh…sorry, I think I may have jumped to an awkward conclusion…' Yana mumbled, blushing and looking down at her feet in embarrassment.

'N…nah, it was my fault that I said that!' Gaius hurriedly assured her. 'I'll call ya something else if ya want?'

'No…I actually think it's kind of appropriate now that I know the reason behind it,' Yana replied shyly, looking back up.

'Well, glad to hear it, cos honestly I don't know what else I could've called ya!'

Yana smiled and then turned to Kellam. 'Sorry, Kellam, don't think that I'm any less grateful to you as well!' She then hugged the large man.

'As nice as this is, perhaps we should get outta here?' Gaius said impatiently. 'Snowtop told me and Turtle to find you since you weren't around.'

'Robin,' Kellam said, seeing the question already forming on Yana's lips. 'He's calling Robin 'Snowtop'.

()()()()()()()

Elsewhere, Raye had found himself in the company of a strange smelling woman, as well as Marth.

'Okay…you I know,' he said, pointing at Marth and glaring at her. 'We still need to have a chat, by the way.' He then looked at the other woman. 'You though…' He then sniffed her before noticing her large, rabbit like ears. 'Oh…you're a Taguel, aren't you?'

The woman looked at him in surprise and excitement. 'Are you also a Taguel? I am Panne, formerly of the…'

Raye grunted, holding up a hand to interrupt her. 'Nah, but I know of your people; I'm sorry for what happened to them, by the way.'

'Oh…' the woman looked very disappointed for a moment before returning to her previously neutral expression. She then also sniffed Raye. 'But if you are not Taguel, then what are you? I have never smelt one such as you and you are certainly no man-spawn.'

'Yeah, I'm a manakete so I'm not surprised I don't smell like a human or Taguel,' Raye shrugged dismissively. He then glanced over his shoulder and rolled his eyes as he saw a large group of Plegians slowly approaching them. 'You guys go back inside; I got this.'

Panne narrowed her eyes. 'If you think to protect me, lizard-spawn, then…'

'Okay, first of all, never call me that again!' Raye growled. 'Second, I need you and Miss Runs-Away-Without-Speaking-To-The-Nice-Manakete-After-He-Trounced-Her to take care of any of these idiots that might get past me. I'm assuming that between you both you can handle it?'

'Miss what?' Marth muttered under her breath before nodding and pulling Panne back inside. 'Look after yourself, Mister I-Can't-Handle-The-Fact-That-A-Woman-Didn't-Want-To-Speak-To-Me!' With that, she slammed the door shut, leaving Raye to blink in surprise after her.

'Huh…there may be hope for her yet…' he mused, smiling slightly before returning his attention back to the Plegians. 'Right…who wants to be the first plaything I break?'

Without waiting for an answer, Raye's flaming claws and wings burst into life and he jumped straight into the middle of his opponent. Even before he had landed, the flames that preceded him had engulfed three, burning them alive where they stood. As they stumbled back screaming, his claws tore apart four more as the rest of the Plegians scrambled out of his way.

'Come on, this isn't even going to be a long fight at this rate!' he roared in frustration. He then took a breath to calm himself before spilling the insides of another Plegian onto the ground after he tore open his stomach.

'Then how about I make it more interesting?' a sinister voice spoke up before a ball of dark energy knocked the manakete back slightly.

Raye narrowed his eyes at the tall sorcerer that had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. He then stiffened when he saw the tome in the man's hands.

'Where did you get that?' he snarled. 'Why does it feel like Grima?'

The sorcerer looked surprised for a moment before grinning. 'That is because this is Grima's Truth, a tome passed down through my family to whoever hold the title of its patriarch!' The man then bowed theatrically. 'As for myself, my name is Validar, head of the Grimleal, and master of dragons!'

'Master of dragons, huh?' Raye scoffed before the meaning of Validar's last self-proclaimed title hit him. 'Wait…are you the one that injured Sahria?' As he spoke his flames seemed to grow hotter around him.

'Ah, is that the name of the manakete brat that I subdue?' Validar mused before narrowing his eyes. 'Hold…how did you know I'd encountered her?'

'Because I rescued her from the 'attentions' of your minions, you soon-to-be worm food bastard!' Raye roared.

'I find that difficult to believe…unless…' Validar cackled then. 'Oh, this is too much! Not only will I kill the Exalt, but I shall capture two manaketes for my master! Surely the Felldragon looks down favourably on me this night!'

'Yeah…no!' Raye snarled and charged at Validar.

The sorcerer sneered as he opened his tome and sent a wave of dark energy to intercept Raye. 'Bah, just like the brat, I will show you the power a man has over your pathetic kind!'

Confident in his assumed victory, Validar was take completely by surprise when an answering wave of golden flame engulfed his magic and utterly consumed it.

'W…what?' Validar seethed.

Raye sent him a mocking look; admittedly he had been forced to stop, but seeing the other man stare at him was well worth the effort. 'Unfortunately for you, you absolute dumbass, I'm from a much stronger tribe than my apprentice.'

'Which. One?!'

'The Divine Dragon tribe!' Raye roared and immediately sent a gigantic lance of golden energy at Validar.

The golden spear of magic penetrated Validar, tearing through him, before tearing through the air and impaling every Plegian that was gathered behind Validar, almost dancing through their numbers as it struck them down.

As the last Plegian fell dead to the floor Validar, who had dropped to his knees, looked groggily up Raye.

'That…that's impossible!' he gurgled. 'That was…Naga's Lance…!'

'What of it?' Raye asked calmly.

'Only…one being was…able to use it…besides her…' Validar groaned as he slumped to the ground. 'The…Doomed…Dragon…'

As the sorcerer let out his last breath, a sad look passed across Raye's face for a moment.

'Doomed…and Forgotten…' he sighed to himself, turning and making to go back into the castle.

He was halted, however, by the sounds of a roar above him. Quickly looking up, he froze when he saw a golden scaled dragon diving through the air towards him before landing with a thud between him and the door. A moment later, the dragon disappeared in a swirl of golden light to reveal a woman very familiar to Raye, who then charged straight for him.

'T…Tiki…?' he managed to mumble before Tiki crashed into him and engulfed him in a crushing embrace.

'BIG BROTHHHEERRRRR!' Tiki yelled happily as they crashed to the ground and nuzzling her face into his neck.

'T…TIKI…?!

()()()()()()()()()

' _And lo; the golden dragon bore down the dragon of red and caused several bruises that would not heal for several hours…'_

 _In all seriousness, Raye and Tiki are finally reunited for the first time in a thousand years! Good luck to you, you crazy kids!_

 _How did you think that chapter went? As always, I defer to your opinions._

 _Not really sure what else I can say except…_

 _Ciao for now!_


	16. Chapter 14

-Chapter Fourteen- Plans and Revelations-

'T…Tiki…could you get off me now?' Raye mumbled as he laid resignedly on his back, his sister still lying on top of him and nuzzling his face.

'No, I'm never gonna let go, big brother!' Tiki replied petulantly.

'You do know people might take it the wrong way, right?' Raye sighed. 'You know…with you lying on top of me like you are?'

'I don't care!'

'Tiki, you're being a child,' Raye muttered.

'So? The last time I saw you I WAS a child!' Tiki reminded him, gripping her brother even more tightly. She then looked up and gave her brother a wide-eyed, hurt look. 'Speaking of which, why didn't you come back if you survived your fight with Grima?' Tears welled in the manakete's eyes and her lower lip quivered. 'Why did you leave me all alone?'

'I…I did go to see you, Tiki, but you were already asleep,' Raye protested. 'Besides…after what happened to mother…' He sighed. '…I just couldn't face you again.'

'What do you mean?' Tiki looked at him curiously.

Raye looked away as he replied,' I mean that it was my fault that mother lost her memories of me…' He struggled to hold back an odd sensation that started to itch at his eyes. 'If I hadn't been so arrogant, mother wouldn't have needed to save me, wouldn't have needed to reconstruct my dragonstone with her power and wouldn't have…wouldn't have forgotten me…' He choked slightly as he spoke.

Unexpectedly, he heard Tiki let out a little giggle and when he looked down at her, she had a smile on her face.

'Wh…why are you laughing, Tiki?' he demanded. 'It was hard for me!'

Tiki immediately grew serious and, somehow, tightened her grip on her brother even more.

'Sorry, it's just…mother's memory loss wasn't permanent,' she explained. 'I mean, when she remembered you, she assumed she'd failed in saving you since you weren't around.' She sighed and buried her head into her brother's neck again, her next words muffled due to this. 'She spent the last thousand years mourning you, you know; she never stopped loving you.'

At this, Raye sniffed and hurriedly wiped away the water that for some reason was begging the fall from his eyes.

'What the hell?' he mumbled. 'Why are my eyes leaking?'

'Because you're crying, you idiot,' Tiki giggled, lifting her head and kissing his cheek affectionately.

Unfortunately, it was at this point that the doors to the castle burst open and Chrom, followed by Yana and the Shepherds who weren't currently protecting Emmeryn, charged out. They all stopped short when they all saw Tiki kiss her brother on the cheek.

Raye immediately saw the smirks that were sent his way, though Yana had to turn away to hide the fact that she was sniggering.

'What?' he demanded aggressively, though he was very red by now.

'Is there something you want to tell us, Raye?' Chrom snickered.

'For Naga's sake, it's not like that!' the manakete sighed before getting to his feet, which was in turn quite the feat considering that Tiki refused to let go of him even at the sudden movement. Raye then stood there, with as much dignity as he could muster with a fully grown woman clinging to him with her arms and legs clamped around his body, and said, 'This happens to be my younger sister, Tiki.' He smirked at Chrom. 'You may know her better as the Voice of Naga.'

Chrom blinked for a moment before falling flat on his back. Yana hurried to his side but saw that he was still conscious and muttering, 'thevoiceofnagathevoiceofnagathevoiceofnaga…' She then jerked back when Chrom sat bolt upright and stared wide-eyed at the two manaketes.

'ARE YOU SERIOUS?'

'Oh, boy…' Robin sighed, face-palming. 'Here we go again!'

()()()()()()()

'L…Lady Tiki!' Emmeryn breathed, falling to her knees and bowing before the woman who, despite it being several minutes after her arrival, was still clinging to her brother. 'We are honoured to be in your presence, my lady!'

'Tiki, for god's sakes the woman's talking to you!' Raye snapped after Tiki at first didn't respond to the Exalt's words, shaking his arm as he tried to release himself from Tiki's grip. 'Would you please let go and try to act like you're a full grown manakete?'

'Nope!' Tiki declared. 'Besides, I can still address them like this, so stop trying to get away from me!' She then looked down at the prostrating Exalt. 'Oh, you don't have to show supplication to me or anything, your Grace; I'd actually prefer it if you didn't.'

'As…as you wish, Lady Tiki!' Emmeryn stammered, quickly getting to her feet.

'Also, please just call me Tiki,' the manakete sighed.

'Very well L...Tiki…' the Exalt replied. She then glanced at Chrom, who was sitting curled into a ball in a corner of the throne room, Yana patting his back sympathetically as Lissa poked him, before turning back to the Voice. 'In any case, to what do we owe the pleasure of your company?'

'Oh, I only came to find the source of a presence I felt several weeks ago,' Tiki explained and looked affectionately up at Raye before nuzzling him once again. 'I never would have imagined it would have been my, presumed dead, big brother!'

Emmeryn looked curiously at the siblings. 'Presumed dead? Why was Raye presumed dead?'

Raye sighed. 'Well, I suppose there's no real reason to not tell you anymore, so why the hell not?'

He then proceeded to tell all those gathered the circumstances of his defeat at Grima's hands a thousand years ago, his near death experience, the sacrifice that Naga had made for him and how he had assumed the loss of her memories of him was permanent and finally his self-imposed exile.

'And yeah, that's pretty much how I ended up here,' he finished some time later. 'I honestly thought that it would have been better to sink into obscurity, but with the increased threat of Plegia that soon wasn't an option. I decided that Yana would need an escort for her mission, which…well…you know how that went.'

'Indeed I do, and I can never thank you enough for what you have done for my family so far,' Emmeryn smiled. 'But I'm surprised that you didn't realise that your divine powers would cause our brands to react, nor that your sister would be able to detect it, even from so far away.'

Raye rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. 'Yeah, well…I'll admit that was a slight miscalculation on my part.' He then grunted. 'I may have gotten a little to…exuberant…I didn't even need to go all out the way I did at the arena.' The manakete looked apologetically at Marth, who had been listening intently to every word. 'Sorry about that, by the way, but I did withhold a vast majority of my power so that I didn't accidentally end up killing you and your team.'

'Oh…well…thanks I guess,' Marth replied, unsure of whether she had just been insulted. She then realised exactly what Raye had just implied. 'Wait…that wasn't even you at full power?'

Raye snorted. 'I would've thought that was obvious! Trust me, if I had fought at full strength the entire arena would have been obliterated…along with most of Ferox.'

'Surely not!' Marth protested, very unnerved now.

It was Tiki who replied, saying, 'He's not lying; my brother was the strongest of the divine dragons in terms of raw power, being only slightly weaker than our mother, and at his peak he became known as the Sword of Naga.'

'The Sword of Naga?' Emmeryn repeated, frowning slightly. 'Apologies, but that's something I don't think I've ever heard of.'

'Well of course you wouldn't have, that's just a silly nickname that Tiki gave me!' Raye said, shooting an annoyed look at his sister who stuck her tongue out in response. 'At some point, she wanted to give me a 'heroic' name for some reason. Personally, I blame Marth…' He shook his head at the Marth that was currently in the room. 'No, not you, not-Marth.'

''Not-Marth','? Marth muttered under her breath, though unfortunately for her the two manaketes heard her.

'Hmm…I'm not sure how I feel about you taking on the name of my Mar-mar…' Tiki mused. She then smiled. 'But I will admit, you do look a lot like him, though obviously with a few added body parts.'

'TIKI!' Raye said sternly as Marth went a deep shade of red and unconsciously covered her chest. 'For mother's sake, learn to think before you speak!' He then lightly hit her on the top of her head, causing her to pout.

'Geez, sorry big brother!' she whined before leaping at him and wrapping her arms around him again. 'Please don't be mad at me!'

'I'm not, but if you don't let go I may end up getting annoyed anyway!' Raye cried, immediately trying to wriggle out of his sister's grasp.

All those present laughed as they looked at the struggling siblings, although Sahria was secretly a tiny bit jealous of the contact the two were sharing.

'So, what's the plan?' Chrom asked, finally standing up and rejoining the group. 'It seems pretty clear what Plegia's intentions are now.'

'I'm sure that if I can just talk to Gangrel…' Emmeryn began but her brother held up a hand.

'Emm, you know as well as I do what that man's like!' he said pointedly. 'He'll try to turn the events to his favour and demand some sort of crazy price, let alone the fact that he might just try to kill you outright!'

'Chrom, that may be but it is a ruler's responsibility to ensure the survival of her people!' Emmeryn argued. 'Ylisse is not as prepared for a war as Plegia is; if war came, we would fall like so much wheat to a scythe!' A determined look appeared on her face. 'I pledged to heal the wounds of the war our father started, beginning with peace, and I intend to fight for peace for as long as I can!'

The two exalted siblings stared at each other in frustration, neither willing to budge on their view of what the next move for Ylisse should be. They only looked around when Marth cleared her throat.

'Apologies for interrupting, your graces, but would you be willing to hear what I have to say?' she asked, stepping forwards.

'Of course, Marth, you certainly earned the right to present your input,' Chrom nodded.

'Thank you,' Marth replied. She then took a moment to gather her thoughts before continuing. 'What would you all say if I told you that I…saw the attack that occurred tonight? Before it happened, I mean.'

'You saw the future?' Emmeryn asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

No one noticed the quick look that Sahria shared with Raye at Marth's words.

'Yes, and I also saw beyond this night,' Marth continued. She looked Emmeryn in the eye. 'I saw the destruction of Ylisse, and I also saw your death…'

Pandemonium ensued after Marth's proclamation.

'How dare you threaten the Exalt!' Phila snarled.

'Phila, I don't think she actually threatened me!' Emmeryn pointed out.

'The destruction of Ylisse? Impossible!' a noble scoffed.

'But the Plegians have become extremely bold, you have to admit!' another commented. 'It wouldn't surprise me if Marth's words were true!'

'This is ridiculous!' Raye sighed as he watched the arguing humans. He then nodded at Sahria, who gained the attentions of the arguing nobles and Shepherds by summoning her knight.

'Right you lot; shut up!' she said loudly, her knight patting an armoured gauntlet against the palm of the other for emphasis.

'Thank you, Sahria,' Raye said. 'Now then, perhaps we can listen to what not-Marth has to say?'

'Can you please stop calling me that?' Marth asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

'Maybe…if you told us you're real name,' Raye replied, looking at the woman pointedly.

'Yes, that's a good point!' a noble agreed. 'You say we are to trust you, yet you hide behind a false identity!'

'Hey, if Marth wishes to keep her identity a secret then that's up to her!' Chrom protested.

'I really only wanted to know her real name…' Raye muttered. 'It's really weird calling a woman by the name of a man I once knew. I don't really care about anything else to do with her identity.'

'Very well, I…suppose there's no harm in telling you my real name…' Marth said uncertainly. 'My real name is Lucina.'

Raye looked at her appraisingly. 'Hmph…that name suits you far more than Marth, Lucina,' he commented after a moment. 'Perhaps stick to that one, yeah?'

'I will take that under advisement, sir,' Lucina replied, blushing slightly at the positive words. She then returned to seriousness. 'Moving on, I believe that the best course of action is to move Exalt Emmeryn to a safer location until Plegia is either defeated or Ylisse reaches an acceptable truce.'

'There's some merit to those words,' Chrom mused. 'Either way, Emmeryn is safe and Plegia is dealt with.' He smiled at Lucina. 'Well thought out.'

'I…it was nothing, my lord,' Lucina said, ducking her head so that Chrom couldn't see the pleased smile on her face.

'There's one problem with that plan,' Emmeryn spoke up then. When they all looked at her, she crossed her arms stubbornly. 'I refuse to hide while others risk themselves for my sake!'

'Oh come on, Emm! No one would judge you for sitting this one out!' Chrom protested. 'You've already done so much for Ylisse since you became Exalt; let us return the favour!'

'Chrom, I love you dearly, but you know that I will not be a ruler that lets others fight her battle for her!' the Exalt stubbornly argued. 'Either I talk with Gangrel and attempt to broker a peace between our two countries, or I accompany you everywhere you go from now on, even if that should lead you to a battlefield!'

'Emm, be reasonable!'

'I think the chances of Emm being reasonable are well and truly gone, Chrom,' Yana spoke up. 'She's clearly not going to budge, so why don't you just let her choose her own path?'

Focusing on Yana, Lucina frowned slightly. 'Apologies, I don't believe we've been introduced?'

'Oh, sorry, forgive me!' Yana replied, smiling. 'I'm Yana, Chrom's twin sister.'

Lucina blinked. 'Pardon?'

'I'm Chrom's twin sister,' Yana repeated, frowning in confusion. 'Is…that a problem?'

'No, no, no problem…' the younger blue haired woman said hurriedly. 'I've just always heard that there were only three members of the Ylissean royal family…'

'Ah, that's a long story,' Yana sighed.

'Yes, but perhaps we should save that for later?' Chrom interrupted. 'I'm trying to convince our sister that there is nothing wrong with letting others take up the slack every now and then.'

'If I could interject…?' Robin said then, stepping forward from where she had been silently observing the conversation.

'If you're going to side with me, then be my guest,' the prince said, switching his attention to her.

'Well…I wasn't exactly going to agree with you, at least not completely,' the tactician replied, making Chrom frown. 'What I was going to suggest was a combination of your opinions; Emmeryn is allowed to go and speak with Gangrel, but only if the Shepherds, ALL of us, accompany her.' She shrugged. 'I mean, it's the rather obvious way to go, isn't it? This way, Emmeryn still gets to attempt peace talks while Chrom is able to watch over her personally.'

Emmeryn and Chrom looked at one another after Robin had finished speaking before reluctantly stepping towards each other and shaking hands.

'That's…an agreeable plan,' Chrom grudgingly admitted. 'I still reserve the right to stew about this privately, though.'

'Noted,' Emmeryn replied, smiling slightly. 'As long as you promise not to do anything rash when I speak with Gangrel.'

'Yeah, yeah, I promise…but as soon as he tries anything I'm getting you out of there!'

'I can live with that,' the Exalt nodded. She then turned and looked at Robin and Lucina with an impressed expression. 'I must say, between you and Lucina it's quite amazing that you managed to get my brother and I to agree on something like this; my commendations and gratitude to the both of you!'

'Speaking of…Lucina, perhaps you would like to accompany us?' Chrom suggested then. 'After all, you are part of the reason we're doing this.'

Lucina seemed to struggle internally for a moment. After sneaking glances at Raye and Yana, who she was still privately unsure of, she nodded.

'If that is what you wish, then I shall join you,' she said, a serious look on her face.

'Excellent! Well then, Shepherds, go and get some rest; you've earned it!' Chrom said, nodding at his comrades.

'Yes, resting is probably more of a reward than anything right now,' Emmeryn nodded. 'Chrom, you and I will begin planning our trip to Plegia in the morning. I expect you to be at the council room as early as you are able.' She then glanced around at those gathered. 'You two as well, Robin and Raye,' she continued, pointing at the tactician and manakete.

'Yeah, saw that coming,' Raye muttered, Tiki giggling as she snuggled against her brother.

'By the way, L…I mean Tiki, did you want to a room in the castle?' Emmeryn asked, suddenly remembering the new addition to the people she found herself with.

'Wherever my big brother is, I don't mind!' Tiki replied happily.

'But…he sleeps in the barracks of the Shepherds…' the Exalt protested.

'Yeah, and what better place than there?' Chrom cut in. 'The Shepherds are enjoyable people to be around and perhaps the presence of the Voice of Naga herself will force them to behave somewhat.'

'That can only be a good thing,' Emmeryn muttered. 'Very well, but please, Tiki, if there is anything that you require then please let me know.'

'Thank you, your grace, but all I need is my big brother!' the Voice of Naga replied cheerfully, throwing her arms around her brother's neck and burying her face once again into his neck.

'Oh Naga…please give me the strength to endure this…' Raye muttered, resigning himself to the snickers of the Shepherds who were still in the room.

'You know you love me, big brother, don't try to deny it!' Tiki laughed. 'We have a thousand years of catching up to do!'

Raye groaned and slowly stumbled out of the room, his sister resuming the position she had taken the last time he had attempted to walk and clamping her limbs around his body. Sahria trailed behind them, her knight close behind her, giggling under her breath all the way.

'And I thought our family was weird…' Lissa whispered in Yana's ear and making her older sister giggle.

()()()()()()()()

 _Wow, who knew that Raye was a tsundere? I suspect we'll be seeing a change in his demeanour soon. In any case he has certainly lost his quite air of sarcastic dignity.  
Speaking of the source of Raye's current dilemma, would this be considered as OOC for Tiki? I imagined that she would have been ecstatic to meet the older brother she had assumed, for a thousand years, to be dead and tried to write her in such a way as to represent this. Do let me know how you think this turned out and don't worry; Tiki will still retain her own air of dignity, only now she'll systematically tear down her brother's own (much to the amusement of those around them I expect)._

 _Either way, I enjoyed writing this particular chapter (not that I haven't enjoyed writing the other ones), especially Tiki's parts. I've always liked Tiki as a character, all of the manakete characters in fact, and that may partly be why there are more manaketes than normal (I reserve the right to deny such accusations, of course)._

 _Ciao for now!_


	17. Interlude Chapter Three

-Interlude Chapter 3 - On the road to Plegia-

 **-Sibling Sets-**

A few days later the Shepherds found themselves on the road again, though this time their destination was potentially a much more hostile location. Chrom and his compatriots knew that they had to be on the highest alert when they crossed the border into Plegia, but for now they had a week's journey to get there.

'I'm surprised that Gangrel agreed to meet,' Chrom said for what felt to Emmeryn like the tenth time since they had started. 'And that he replied so quickly.'

'Chrom, for the last time I know that it seems suspicious,' Emmeryn sighed, resisting the urge to also roll her eyes. 'But this could be the start of a better future for both of our countries so please, let it go!'

Chrom muttered under his breath but didn't comment further on the subject of Gangrel. Instead, the prince looked to check on the other Shepherds. His troops were all in relatively high spirits considering the situation, so Chrom turned his attention back to the front.

'At least the weather's keeping clear,' he commented after a while.

'Indeed; it's almost like the calm before the storm,' Raye muttered from where he was walking beside the Exalt.

The manakete had decided to take it upon himself to be Emmeryn's bodyguard, having assigned his own position as Yana's protector to Sahria.

' _Are you sure about this, master?' the younger manakete had whispered to him when he had told her of his plans._

 _Raye had smiled in reply. 'This way, you get to know your mother as well as keep an eye on her, and I can feel a little more comfortable with Emmeryn more protected.'_

' _So basically you're saying that you don't trust me to do a good job looking after the Exalt, huh?' his apprentice had smirked._

' _Basically, yeah,' Raye had tossed back easily._

Emmeryn hadn't seemed to have minded Raye's presence, so now he silently shadowed her as they made their way to their destination.

'Oh, stop pouting, Tiki,' Raye sighed then, looking next to him as he heard a little mutter come from his sister. 'You know you were going a little overboard with your affection.'

'Yeah, but…fine, whatever…' Tiki huffed. She then glanced guiltily at her brother from the corner of her eye. 'I really am sorry that I was so…clingy, it's just that it's been a thousand years since we've been in each other's company.'

'I understand, but you're the Voice of Naga now,' Raye replied. 'That means that people expect you to behave in a certain way, and getting all touchy feely with your brother is certainly not it.'

'Yes, I know…' Tiki sighed unhappily. If she was truthful with herself, she knew that she had overreacted when she had reunited with her older brother; it was admitting it that was the hardest part. 'I'll try to keep the hugs to…once per day.'

'Once a week,' Raye countered.

'Every two days?' Tiki suggested.

Raye considered her offer before shaking his head. 'Nope, every THREE, and for…five minutes.'

'…Fine, I can live with that I suppose,' Tiki muttered, but she still smiled when Raye put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

'Hey…I love you, Little Tiki,' he said.

'…I love you too, big brother…'

The Ylissean royal family smiled as they watched the two siblings interact.

'Aw, I think it's sweet that you…er…negotiated specific times for affection!' Lissa commented.

'Yeah, maybe I should consider doing that?' Chrom chuckled.

Lissa scoffed. 'Pfft, first one of your sisters would have to _want_ to be affectionate towards you!'

Yana and Emmeryn sniggered into their hands as Chrom and Lissa began arguing. As they bickered, their two sisters decided to then take the time to deepen the bond they had unfortunately been unable to really nurture due to the crises that were gripping Ylisse.

'How are you friends from Rielet, Yana?' Emmeryn asked.

'They seem to be adjusting well to life in the capitol, Emm,' Yana replied. 'Kari especially; she's been pestering me to go on a shopping spree because, and I quote, 'You totally deserve to treat yourself now, princess!''

Emmeryn laughed. 'She sounds like quite the character!'

Yana snorted. 'That's one way to put it! She once got in trouble for stealing several sisters' smallclothes and scattering them on the roof of the church!'

'That…sounds like an odd thing to want to do…' Emmeryn mumbled. 'How did she even manage it?'

'Snuck into the clerics' quarters during a prayer session, grabbed all the smallclothes she could and then climbed out of the bell tower window before strewing them over the roof!'

'But…why?'

Yana shrugged. 'From what she told me, it was really for the thrill of it,' she explained. 'Kari was very energetic and mischievous when we were growing up.' She sighed. 'Sure, she might have calmed down in the past few years, but she's still incredibly eccentric.'

'I hope that she doesn't get up to too much trouble while you're away then.'

'Don't worry, I had a talk with her before we left,' Yana assured her older sister. 'I told her, in no uncertain terms, that if I came back to the news that she did something uncomfortably weird in my absence I'd have Raye dangle her, in his dragon form, by her collar from his mouth when he's several feet in the air.'

'I'm still annoyed that I've been relegated to little more than a tool for threats,' Raye muttered.

'Hey, who's the one who decided to foist his duties onto his apprentice?' Yana smirked.

'Would you rather Sahria be the one look after your sister?' Raye shot back, smirking and earning himself a glare from the manakete in question who was walking beside Yana's horse.

'Master, don't be mean!' she whined. 'I could have totally looked after the Exalt!'

'Says the girl that still can't catch me when I'm going at half my usual flight speed!' Raye retorted.

'What does flight speed have to do with protecting the Exalt?' Sahria exclaimed in disbelief. 'She can't even fly!'

'I know, I just felt like rubbing it in!'

Tiki wacked her brother on the shoulder. 'Hey, be nice!' She then turned to look apologetically at Sahria. 'I'm sorry, my big brother likes to lord it over us _lesser_ dragons that he was one of the fastest flyers of our kind.' She then grinned evilly. 'But there was this one time that a Wind Dragon out sped him so much after he had challenged that particular dragon to a race that my big brother was throwing up for almost a week; he'd pushed himself so much that he had caused his stomach to take a turn for the worst!'

'TIKI, that was supposed to be our little secret!' Raye barked, the tips of his ears burning with embarrassment as Lissa and Yana snorted with laughter.

'Well, if you will be mean to us younger dragons…' Tiki replied innocently.

'…Fine…sorry, Sahria…' Raye muttered through gritted teeth. He then looked serious for a moment. 'In all honesty though, the reason I wanted to have you protect Yana is because…' Sahria held her breath, worried that he was about to reveal her secret; she needn't have worried, however. '…I trust you enough by now to look after someone I've watched grow up and consider one of my closest friends.'

'Oh…' Sahria blinked at Raye's words, before smiling brightly. 'Why didn't you just say that then?'

'Because I know you would've hugged me until I had no feeling in my neck,' Raye grunted. 'And since Tiki spent almost the entire night latched onto me, I wasn't really looking forward to any more contact with the female kind.'

'Aw, I wouldn't have done that…probably…' Sahria replied. 'I can totally take praise without having to hug something!'

Raye didn't dignify her words with a response.

 **-Ruffled Intentions-**

'Right, let's set up camp here!' Chrom said loudly as night began to fall.

'About damn time, Chrom!' Sully muttered, dismounting from her horse and stretching. 'We've been marching for hours without pause!'

'Ha, you goin' soft on us, Sully?' Vaike scoffed, even though he was clearly out of breath himself. 'Not the Vaike; this was like a little stroll to him!'

'Shut it you!' Sully snapped back, too tired to really think up a more complex insult.

'Such strong words from such fair a maiden!' Virion spoke up as he approached. 'Even so, your beauty is not marred in the slightest! Perhaps you would allow me to fetch you some water, my lady?'

'Fine, just stop with the fancy talk, Ruffles,' Sully said, rolling her eyes.

Virion smiled brightly and rushed off to find the nearest water skin while Vaike wondered off. Once the archer was out of sight, Sully let out a snort and brought out her own water skin from the pack that was tied to her horse.

As this was happening, Sumia landed her pegasus next to her.

'Hey, Sully,' she said tiredly. The pegasus knight had been flying above the Ylissean column since the journey had begun and was thankful that she and her mount would have a chance to rest.

'Wotcher, Sumia,' Sully replied, nodding at her fellow Shepherd. She then offered her water skin to the other woman. 'Here, you look even more tired than I do.'

The pegasus knight nodded tiredly and took a quick swig of water.

'Thanks, I can't believe I forgot to pack mine!' she complained once she'd drunk her fill and handed the water skin back to the cavalier. 'I knew I should've checked once more before we set out!'

'Heh, if you need one I think I can get it for ya!' Sully snickered. She nodded in the direction of Virion, who was fast approaching with a smug look on his face. 'Watch this…'

She adopted a disinterested expression, casually taking a swig of water. 'Hey, Ruffles, what took ya?'

'Apologies, my fair lady, I…' Virion's words trailed off when he saw that Sully now seemed to have found a water skin during his absence. 'Fair Sully, who gave you that? Alas and curses; my procrastination has allowed another to complete a duty that I had willingly taken up! My honour has been…'

'Geez, relax Ruffles!' Sully interrupted, barely resisting the urge to roll her eyes again. 'I just remembered that I actually had one already in my pack, alright?'

Virion blinked before flipping his hair briefly and smiling. 'Of course, I should have realised that one so beautiful and intelligent as you would already have one! Forgive me for doubting you, my flower!'

'Yeah well, since yer here why don't ya give that thing to Sumia?' Sully grunted. 'She…er…dropped hers at some point during her airborne patrol.'

'Of course! How could I not take the chance to redeem myself in your eyes!' the archer exclaimed before gliding over to where Sumia had dismounted and gracefully taking her hand. 'Graceful maiden of the air, please; allow this humble gentleman to grace you with an even humbler gift of a new water skin to replace the one so vexingly and cruelly taken away from you!'

Sumia was taken aback by the string of words sent her way, while Sully's shoulders shook as she turned away. 'Umm…thank you, Virion, I appreciate it…'

'Think nothing of it, fair Sumia!' the man replied, waving his hand elegantly to dismiss Sumia's thanks. 'It is merely the duty of a gentleman to make sure that his female travelling companions are well looked after!' He posed impressively for a moment. 'And I, as the most gentlemanly of all gentlemen, pride myself on doing just that!'

'Er…right…' Sumia replied, now wondering if the archer was completely sane. 'Um…if you don't mind, I need to have a private word with Sully…'

'Of course; do not allow me to interrupt you!' Virion said quickly and, with one last graceful bow, hurried away.

Making sure that the man had indeed left them alone, the two women then looked each other in the eye…and descended into giggles.

 **-Where were we?-**

After the Shepherds had set up camp, both Raye and Sahria soon found out that there was one negative about the fact that they would be in place for several hours; Miriel was now able to hunt them down in an attempt to continue where she had left off at the capitol.

'Now then, since we have the chance at some peace and quiet, perhaps the two of you would be willing to have a discussion about your people?' the mage said as she cornered the two manaketes, now three since Tiki had been following Raye around ever since the Shepherds had settled down for the evening. 'I am most curious on the subject of manaketes and would appreciate it if the two of you, and perhaps you as well Lady Tiki if you are willing, satisfy said curiosity.'

'Oh…er…Miriel…I'm afraid that I was actually hoping to reconnect with Tiki tonight!' Raye said quickly, throwing an arm around Tiki and giving her a brief shake. 'You know, since it HAS been a thousand years since we've seen each other!' He then cleared his throat. 'And…and Sahria is also coming with us, since we're all manaketes and it would be good for her to be around another female of our specie! For her development, I mean…probably…'

He then grabbed his sister and apprentice by the hand and nearly dragged them behind him as he all but ran from the mage.

'Fascinating…but also most vexing,' Miriel frowned and took out a small notebook.

' _It seems that the manaketes prefer the company of their own kind,'_ the mage wrote. _'I will take it upon myself to discover whether or not a human can assimilate into such a tight knit racial group.'_ She paused as she suddenly remembered something. _'Interestingly one such human, the twin sister of Prince Chrom, Yana, has somehow found a way to do just that. Perhaps I should start my investigation by questioning her?'_

Nodding to herself quietly, Miriel put her notebook away and hurried after the three manaketes, making a mental note to also seek out Yana if she was unable to catch up with her subjects of investigation.

()()()()()()()

In another part of the camp, Yana suddenly felt a cold feeling run through her spine.

'You alright, Yana?' Lissa asked, noticing her sister shiver.

'Yeah…I just got the horrible feeling that some kind of monster was just unleashed…'

'Okay…well whatever, let's go meet up with Chrom and Emmeryn!' Lissa cried, grabbing Yana's arm and dragging her in the direction of the command tent.

 **-A seriously awkward family encounter-**

'I am so glad that the Shepherds are able to bring along things for a bath!' Robin sighed as she lowered herself into a large tub of hot water and humming contentedly. She then looked at the person who had joined her. 'You getting in, Lucina?'

'Erm…w…wouldn't that be inappropriate?' Lucina mumbled, fidgeting with her cloak as she looked down at the ground. For some reason, the newly recruited bluenette had been following Robin around for the last hour, though the tactician hadn't minded.

'Oh, we're both women, Lucina,' Robin replied, rolling her eyes. 'And it would save on hot water if we just shared the bath now.'

'I…suppose that is sound logic…' Lucina said hesitantly. She then sighed in resignation before quickly undressing and lowering herself into the tub beside Robin. The younger woman sighed with relief as the hot water washed over her.

'See, not so bad, huh?' Robin smirked, seeing the small smile that had showed up on Lucina's face.

'Indeed, I will admit that it has been…quite some time since I was able to relax like this,' Lucina agreed, lowering herself further into the water and closing her eyes.

'Just make sure you don't go to sleep, yeah?' Robin chuckled, moving so that she could sit next to Lucina and keep an eye on her.

'I'll try not to, Lady Robin,' the bluenette mumbled in contentment.

()()()()()()()

Meanwhile, Chrom was walking through the camp, searching for Robin; he had been instructed by Emmeryn to find the tactician, her wish being to again go over her plan once they reached Plegia.

'Hey Stahl, have you seen Robin?' the prince asked, grabbing the arm of the green knight as he walked by on his way to the food tent.

'I think she went in that direction,' Stahl replied distractedly, gesturing absentmindedly in the direction of the edge of the camp; he really was hungry. 'I think she said something about needing to relax?'

'Thanks, you can go now,' Chrom said gratefully, letting the knight go and moving in the direction Stahl had indicated.

Seeing as there was only one tent in that direction, Chrom assumed that Robin was inside.

He knocked on the wood of the tent's entrance and called out, 'Hey, Robin, you in there?' When he heard the sound of startled cries from two different people, he frowned. 'Is there someone else in there with you?'

'Er…yeah, its Lucina!' Robin called back, her voice muffled on the other side of the tent. 'Wait just a moment and we'll be right with you!'

'What?' Chrom shouted back. Not getting a reply, he shrugged and opened the entry flap and walked inside. 'Hey Robin, where are you? I can't see you with all this steam in the air.' He tried to wave the steam clouds away from his eyes. 'Why is there even steam here in the first place?'

A moment later, the answer to his question was unfortunately revealed to the prince, in more ways than one.

As his eyes focussed Chrom froze when he saw, to his complete and utter horror, both Robin and Lucina in the process of getting out of the tub of water that was on the other side of the large tent…and both were naturally completely naked.

The first thing that Chrom saw was that, now that he could see Robin out of her coat, the tactician was actually more developed in the body than he had been allowed to believe. His eyes were unfortunately drawn to, and captured by, the sight of the droplets of water that rolled down Robin's pale, flawless skin, accentuating her curves and causing her to shimmer in the light of the candles. The prince's eyes then unconsciously travelled further down and he saw that Robin was completely hairless, both on her legs and in the location of her intimate area. His eyes then travelled back up, taking in the sight of her long, smooth legs and back up to her surprisingly ample chest. Chrom gulped when he saw that her nipples had drops of water clinging to them, and that her long wet hair was sticking to the shape of her breasts, framing them even more.

Just as his eyes were then making the natural switch in Lucina's direction, Lucina took that moment to let out a piercing shriek and dived back into the tub, lowering herself into the water so that only her head was above the waterline. At this sound, Chrom was brought, forcefully, back to earth.

Robin, meanwhile, had recovered from her paralysis caused by Chrom barging into the women's bathing tent and she quickly covered herself, though to the prince it unfortunately made her look more erotic in his eyes and he felt an unfortunate sensation in his lower regions.

'Chrom, what the hell do you think you're doing!?' Robin yelled, shuffling over to a trunk that Chrom had missed and grabbing a towel that was resting there. Wrapping it tightly around her, again only making Chrom feel more uncomfortable at the sight, she put her hands in her hips and glared at the prince. 'Why, in the name of every invocation of Naga, would you barge into the WOMEN'S bathing tent, even when we told you to wait?!'

'I…I didn't know that this even _was_ the women's bathing tent!' Chrom stammered in protestation. 'Seriously, why didn't someone put up a sign of anything?'

'THERE IS A BLOODY SIGN, YOU ABSOLUTE IDIOT!' the tactician yelled at the top of her voice, pointing furiously behind Chrom.

The prince looked in the indicated direction and the blood drained from his face; there, quite clearly, he could see the shape of a wooden sign just above the entrance to the tent. Slowly poking his head out, he looked up and saw that, even more clearly, the sign had in large red letters the words 'Ladies Bathing Tent' painted across its surface.

Grimacing, Chrom stepped back into the tent only to find that Robin, with a dark expression on her face, had retrieved her tome from somewhere and had it opened. Much to his mounting terror, the tactician's right hand was beginning to crackle with arcane lightning.

'You know…I probably wouldn't have minded it if you had immediately averted your gaze and apologised,' Robin said conversationally in a dangerously sweet tone, her eyes filled with fury. 'I definitely wouldn't have minded if it had just been me you had walked in on.' She then pointed behind her, eyes still locked onto Chrom's, at the mortified Lucina who had been watching their exchange with wide eyes. 'BUT you almost looked at Lucina, didn't you? Lucina, who is barely an adult for Naga's sake; you almost LOOKED at her when she was naked!'

'I…in my defence, I…didn't…' Chrom trailed off as Robin began stalking towards him, lifting up her hand in the process. Chrom quickly back peddled, exiting the tent with Robin striding menacingly out after him. 'Now…now Robin…don't do anything hasty now…'

'Hasty, huh?' Robin growled. 'You mean 'hasty' like the way you barged into the tent?! You mean THAT kind of _hasty_?!'

'Er…yeah…'

'I'M GONNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU NEVER PEEP AT ANOTHER WOMAN AGAIN!' Robin screeched and shot a powerful beam of lightning at the prince, missing by mere inches and causing Chrom to flee away from the extremely angry woman.

Inside the tent, a red faced Lucina sat, forgotten, in the tub.

' _That…that couldn't have been any more mortifying!'_ she wailed internally and she burst into tears. _'Father…I always knew that you sometimes ignored mother's advice but this…this…AHHHHHHH!'_

()()()()()()()()

 _Well…that escalated quickly…poor Lucina, huh?_

 _Another interlude chapter before the Shepherds reach Plegia. I think you probably know who the next two characters to be introduced will be, hmm?_

 _Ciao for now!_


	18. Chapter 15

-Chapter 15- The Grimleal-

The Shepherds looked over the desert before them that stretched as far as the eye could see. They had crossed the border into Plegia a few hours ago and already they could all feel the increase in temperature. For those that were wearing thin clothing like the mages and, in the case of Vaike, barely any clothing at all, it wasn't that uncomfortable. However, for those wearing heavy armour and the like, the journey was now becoming an ordeal.

The heat was also affecting a certain tactician, who was now starting to regret wearing such a thick coat; in the Feroxi environment, Robin had been very thankful for her favourite possession. Now she cursed it under her breath as she shielded her eyes from both the sun and the heat.

'Hey Robin, you feeling okay?' Chrom asked, glancing at his friend in concern. Having quickly apologised for the bathing incident to both women involved, he and Robin had somehow become even closer, laughing about the incident after Chrom's bruises had faded. 'Maybe you should take that coat of yours off?'

'Ha…I'm sure you'd…like that…' Robin panted sarcastically.

'N…no…I meant that you're clearly struggling!' Chrom protested, going red and not from the heat.

Robin let out a tired chuckle. 'Relax, I know what you meant.' She then sighed and carefully took her coat off, stowing it in her saddlebag. 'Probably should've done that as soon as we entered Plegia, huh?'

'Why didn't you?' Chrom asked, smirking.

'Cos the coat is synonymous with image!' Robin replied theatrically. 'Seriously, it's gotten to the point where I feel that everyone knows the coat more than me!'

'You could be right about that!' Chrom laughed, while Lissa and Yana giggled with him. 'I don't think I've ever seen you out of it, even outside of battle!'

'Well, you can't really say that anymore can ya, Chrom?' Lissa said slyly; all of the Shepherds had by now heard about Chrom's unfortunate encounter with Robin and Lucina and the prince knew that he was never going to hear the end of it as long as he lived.

'Hey, that situation was out of my control!' Chrom protested, glaring at his sister. 'And anyway, Robin's forgiven me for that, so drop it!'

'What about Lucina?' Yana asked, glancing to where the girl in question was riding alongside Tiki, seeming to be in a deep discussion with the Voice. 'She was quite hysterical when I entered the bathing tent after you and Robin nearly destroyed the camp.'

'Yeah…I think she's been avoiding me…' Chrom muttered, glancing guiltily back at Lucina as well. The two bluenettes caught each other's eyes and Lucina went very red in the face, quickly looking away with a grimace on her face. 'Yep…definitely…'

'Could've been worse,' Raye chose that moment to comment. 'It could've been Lucina you ogled, after all.' This brought out a short snort of laughter from Sahria, who quickly coughed to cover it up.

'That's really not helping,' the prince snapped. 'Now, can we please focus on the journey and if we have to talk can it be about ANYTHING else?'

'Of course, Prince Chrom,' Raye replied, straight-faced. 'I'm sure everyone else will forget that this ever happened…eventually…'

Before Chrom could shoot Raye a dirty look, a scout that he had sent out earlier came riding towards the royals.

'Pardon me, your highnesses, but I've spotted a group of what look to be bandits chasing a young girl,' the man reported.

'How far ahead?' Chrom asked quickly, all business now.

'About ten minutes from here,' the scout replied. 'I would have tried to intervene but there were too many.'

'No, you did the right thing,' the prince assured the scout. 'We'll take over from here.'

'Sir!' the scout saluted and rode away.

Chrom looked at the Sahria and Raye. 'Can you two go ahead? We won't be able to reach the girl in time since we're all on horseback and only you two will be unaffected by the sands what with your winged advantage.'

'I'll go deal with it,' Raye said firmly, much to the annoyance of his apprentice.

'Master, you don't have to do this alone!' she said heatedly. 'This is the second time you've left me behind and out of a fight!'

'True…very well, you can come with me,' the older manakete sighed. 'I'm sorry; I'm used to dealing with situations by myself so I sometimes still unconsciously feel the need to do so.'

'You're forgiven, master, just make sure you start remembering that I exist!'

Raye gave Sahria a small smile before taking out his dragonstone and transforming. Sahria quickly followed suit and the two dragons took flight.

As they flew off in the direction the scout had indicated, Tiki quickly ran up to the front of the procession.

'Wait, where are they going?' she asked, reaching for her own dragonstone.

'They're going to check out a situation that has arisen,' Chrom replied.' One of our scouts just came back with the news that some bandits are chasing a girl some distance from us. I sent those two ahead because we might not be able to get there in time due to the sand.'

Before Tiki could reply, Emmeryn interrupted her, saying, 'Please, my Lady, leave this up to your brother and his apprentice; they are more than enough for dealing with some bandits.'

'But what if one of them has a wyrmslayer or similar dragon killing weapon?' Tiki argued.

'If that was the case, then it would be foolish to send you with them as well,' Emmeryn pointed out. 'Please, I cannot in good conscience send the Voice of Naga herself into such a danger; think about what it would mean for the world if you ended up dying, in Plegia no less. It would plunge the world into even more chaos than it is already currently in.'

Tiki struggled internally until she sighed and relented. 'Very well, Exalt Emmeryn; you're words have merit to them.' She looked anxiously after the swiftly diminishing form of her brother. 'I just hope that he doesn't do anything idiotic.'

()()()()()()()()

'Get away from me you…you big bully!' a small, green haired girl cried as she tried to break out of the grip of a large man. 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?'

'Oy, can little girl please be stopping with the yelling!' the man grumbled as he looked over his shoulder at the men pursuing them. 'Gregor is trying to help the girl!'

'NO…you wanna…wanna do weird things to me!' the girl wailed. 'You…you perverted old man!'

'Gregor is quite sure he is not knowing what loud girl is meaning!' Gregor replied in exasperation. 'Look, Gregor may have been with men who held you, but Gregor felt sorry for you so he has come to decision to assist you in the escaping! How else is girl assuming that her cage was unlocked?'

'Th…that was you, old man?' the girl asked, ceasing her struggles and looking up at Gregor curiously.

'Hoy, Gregor is not that old, not yet anyway!' the mercenary replied. 'But yes, the unlocking of your cage is all because of Gregor!'

'Well, why didn't ya say so?' the girl said cheerfully.'

Gregor sighed and let go of her arm. 'So, is little girl going to stop accusing Gregor of sinister intentions towards her person?'

The girl nodded. 'Sure!' She then stuck out a hand that the mercenary shook in surprise. 'The name's Nowi by the way and for your information I might look like a little girl but I'm not, so quit with the 'little girl' comments!'

'Gregor apologise, so long as you cease with the making of old man comments yourself!'

Nowi giggled. 'Deal! Now, let's get outta here!' She then reached to her belt where a pouch was attached, but let out a startled cry when she found it empty. 'H…hey…! Where's my dragonstone?'

'Dragonstone?' Gregor asked, not understanding for a moment before realising what she meant. 'Oh ho, now Gregor is understanding why Plegians so interested in you!' He looked keenly at Nowi. 'You are a manakete, yes?'

'Yeah, and I'm seriously peeved that someone's taken my dragonstone!' Nowi pouted. She then looked over Gregor's shoulder and let out a cry of alarm. 'Gramps, look out!'

'Gramps…?' Gregor muttered even as he blocked a sudden attack from behind him without looking. 'Gregor is thinking that 'gramps' is even worse!'

The mercenary then turned around and casually decapitated the man that had attacked him, keeping Nowi between him and the dead man's reinforcements that were close behind him.

'Gregor is thinking that none of you will be the taking little girl!' Gregor announced calmly. 'So, who is first to be making with the dying?'

Before any of the bandits could respond, one was snatched from the ground by a scaly tail and hauled, screaming, into the air. A moment later, a huge red dragon landed between Gregor and Nowi and the bandits, the sight of which made the small girl let out a gasp of surprise before a radiant smile lit her face.

'Papa!' she let out a cry that was ignored by the others.

()()()()()()()

Raye glared down at the men who were now quivering in fright before him. He then sniffed the air and let out a dismissive snort.

' _So, this is what the Grimleal have been reduced to?'_ he growled. ' _Chasing young manaketes across their lands?'_ Both he and Sahria had smelt Nowi's draconic scent as they had approached the group.

The Plegians let out startled cries when Sahria landed behind them, her golden knight mounted on her back; she had summoned her knight just before capturing her victim with her tail and dropping him from several feet in the air.

' _Hey, we gonna eat these guys or what, master?'_ she asked, licking her chops for emphasis.

Raye snorted. _'I wouldn't advise eating these people, Sahria. You'd probably get a severe stomach ache from their sour flesh!'_

' _Oh, poop!'_ Sahria pretended to pout. _'And it's been soooo long since I last had anything to eat!'_ She then chuckled and mentally instructed her knight to dismount from her back, lowering a wing so that it could slide down to the sand below. _'Guess we're just gonna have to kill them boringly, huh?'_

With that, the two dragons and the golden knight tore apart the group of Plegians in a very short amount of time, sending limbs and heads flying in all directions. After the completely one sided skirmish was done, the golden knight disappeared and the two dragons looked down at the two people they had rescued.

' _Yo, you guys alright?'_ Sahria asked, picking her teeth clean with a claw.

'Uh…yes, Gregor and little girl are fine now, thank you…' Gregor replied nervously. 'But perhaps scary dragons should be made aware that there are more of the Grimleal.'

' _Yeah, we saw a large group of them as we made our way to you,'_ Raye replied, looking in the direction of said group. _'They seem to be hesitant for now, but I doubt that they will stay that way for long; they seem very determined to recapture their quarry.'_ He then looked back at Nowi, who was hiding shyly behind Gregor now. ' _Speaking of, who are you and why are they after you?'_

Seeing that she was being addressed, Nowi jumped out from behind Gregor and ran up to hug one of Raye's large legs, surprising the dragon.

'Papa, don't be silly; don't you recognise me?' she cried cheerfully.

' _Wait…'papa'?'_ Sahria repeated, very surprised by Nowi's words. She then looked carefully at her mentor. _'Er master…is there something you've been neglecting to tell me?'_

' _How should I know?!'_ Raye protested. _'I've never met her before and she doesn't even smell familiar!'_

Hearing this, Nowi's eyes filled with tears as she looked up at Raye's shocked dragon face. 'Papa, are you saying that you've forgotten your precious Nowi?'

' _Nowi…?'_ Raye repeated slowly before shaking his head. _'Nah, can't say that I remember you, sorry.'_

' _Master!'_ Sahria scolded the older manakete as Nowi burst into tears, flicking Raye over the head with her tail. _'That was so mean!'_

' _What? It's the truth!'_ Raye replied in annoyance.

The two dragons focussed their attention on Gregor when the mercenary cleared his throat.

'Perhaps it is none of Gregor's business, but perhaps scary dragons would like to be looking over there?' the man said, pointing behind the two manaketes.

They turned and saw that the rest of the Plegians were now making their towards them.

Raye grunted. _'Hmph, they seriously didn't waste any time, did they?'_ He nodded at Sahria. _'You want to take care of them?'_

His apprentice looked at him in surprise. _'What, you don't want to take the glory?'_

' _Well, you were the one that was complaining that I never let you do anything fun,'_ Raye pointed out. _'But if you really don't want to…?'_

' _No, I'll do it!'_ Sahria interrupted hurriedly. _'I was just taken aback, that's all.'_

With that, Sahria lifted off and hovered in the air above the others. She waited until the Plegians had come within a certain distance from her friends before she flared her wings and caused a stream of golden fire to burst from her jaws. The beam of light tore across the sand of the desert, leaving a scorching trail behind before coming into contact with the leading Plegians. All of those unfortunate to be caught within the flames were instantly turned to ash, not even given the chance to scream before they were obliterated.

Sahria then followed up by wreathing her entire body in darker flames before making a beeline for the surviving Plegians. As she got nearer the Plegians could feel the air around them suddenly get cooler. These thoughts barely entered their minds however before Sahria was upon them. Any Plegians that she came close to were consumed by her dark flames and turned into husks, their skins wrinkling and seemingly becoming desiccated.

As Gregor and Nowi watched this display with wide eyes, Raye was the only one who saw the small wisps that seemed to be drawn from Sahria's victims into her body. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully, but kept whatever thoughts he had on the matter to himself.

Finally, the lack of screaming indicated that Sahria had now wiped out the group of Plegians. Flying back to the group, she landed close to Raye and hummed in satisfaction.

' _Thanks, master, that felt so good to let loose like that!'_ she sighed, ruffling her wings and raising her tail slightly. _'I didn't even know I could do that last thing, either!'_

Raye was silent for a moment as he scrutinised his apprentice. _'Hmm…about that, we should have a word in private when we both have the time…'_ he said eventually.

Sahria frowned. _'Did I do something wrong?'_

' _I'm…not sure…'_ Raye muttered. _'But I think you should avoid doing whatever that was for the time being.'_

' _If you say so, master…'_ Despite smiling after she had spoken, Sahria couldn't suppress the feelings of disappointment and hurt at her master's words that she was now experiencing.

Raye nodded before transforming back into his human form, Sahria following suit soon after. As Raye stretched his arms and complained under his breath about old age catching up to him, he winced when Nowi jumped onto his back and threw her arms around his neck.

'Papa, that was so cool, wasn't it?' she cried. 'Your apprentice is pretty strong!'

'Yeah she is, but can you please get off me?' Raye said shortly, attempting to unwind the small girl's arms from his neck but Nowi stayed resolute. Inwardly he sighed. _'Oh, come on; first Tiki now this weirdo? Why me?'_

'Nah, you're stuck with me until you remember me!' the little manakete replied stubbornly.

As Raye struggled to escape Nowi's grasp, a shadow fell across them and Sahria and Gregor looked up to see a pegasus coming down to land next to them. In its saddle was Sumia, with Virion sitting behind her.

'There you guys are!' Sumia said with relief as she dismounted, leaving Virion to gingerly climb down from the saddle by himself. 'Chrom sent us to back you guys up…' The pegasus knight surveyed the devastation left behind by Sahria's battle. '…but I guess we're not really needed…'

'Nope, master let me take care of them!' Sahria replied cheerfully. 'Also, we got to the girl that was being chased in time, plus met that guy as well.' She gestured towards Gregor, who gave a slight bow of his head to the newcomers.

'Hoy there, this man's name is Gregor,' he introduced himself. He then glanced keenly at the Shepherds. 'Now though, Gregor is wondering what rescuers are planning to do with him and little girl?'

'I've been meaning to ask…why is she, and I'm assuming that's the girl in question, trying to suffocate Raye?' Sumia asked awkwardly, looking at the struggling pair of manaketes.

Even as she spoke, Raye finally freed himself and held Nowi upside down by her ankle, panting slightly and with a look of triumph on his face.

'Ha, got out of your grip you weirdo!' he crowed, smirking at Nowi who was pouting with her arms crossed across her chest.

'Aw, Papa, no fair!' she grumbled before suddenly smiling sunnily. 'We can play later though, if ya want!'

'Yeah…no…I'm way too old for that!' Raye replied firmly, though there was a ghost of smile on his face as he spoke. 'And stop calling me 'papa'!'

Nowi stuck her tongue out at him as Raye turned her right ways up and put her back on her feet. 'No, you're Papa and that's what I'm gonna call you!'

'Why do you even think I _am_ your papa?' Raye demanded.

Nowi cocked her head thoughtfully. 'Well…it's probably because you look exactly like what my mama described you as looking.'

At this, Raye's eyebrows shut up. 'Who's your mother then? What's her name?'

'Umm…Aurora, I think…'

Raye froze the moment Nowi mentioned the name 'Aurora'.

'No…that's not possible!' he muttered under his breath. Louder, he quickly said, 'This Aurora of yours…did she have green scales and blue wings? Also pretty eccentric?'

Nowi smiled and nodded her head enthusiastically. 'Yep! My own scales are green and I got them from her!'

'And…and did she ever mention the name 'Fyrayus' at any point?' Raye continued, suddenly feeling dizzy and not from the heat.

The small manakete girl frowned before nodding. 'Yeah…she said that he was the love of her life…oh!' Nowi then smiled again. 'I'm guessing that you're Fyrayus, huh? Which means you really are papa!'

'One last thing…how old are you?' Raye asked, now swaying slightly.

'One thousand, two hundred and eighty-three years old!' Nowi replied cheerfully.

'Oh..' Raye quickly did some mental mathematics in his head before the blood drained from his face. 'That would mean…that would make it…' He stared at Nowi faintly. 'You…really are…'

However, he didn't get any further, instead suddenly keeling over in a faint and surprising everyone gathered there.

'PAPA!'

()()()()()()()

'Er…what exactly happened?' Chrom asked as he watched Virion and Sumia carefully lower Raye, who was still unconscious, from the saddle of the pegasus.

Sahria shrugged. 'Oh, my master just found out that he's apparently been a dad for the past two thousand odd years.'

Chrom looked at her, deadpan, before sighing. 'Yep…that figures.' Seeing the raised eyebrow that Sahria sent his way, he shook his head ruefully. 'It just seems to be my luck to attract manaketes, and those manaketes always connected to Raye!'

'Technically, I wasn't connected to my master at the time, but yeah; I get your point,' Sahria laughed. 'Maybe we'll find out that he has a long lost son as well!'

'Gods, I hope not!' Chrom said weakly. 'I mean, I appreciate having powerful people like you guys around, I just don't know if I can handle any more of you!' He shivered at the thought.

Sahria clapped a sympathetic hand on the taller man's shoulder. 'Well, that's the price you pay for being a charismatic guy, your highness; you were always bound to attract beings of legend to your side sooner or later!'

Chrom grumbled. 'I think I'd prefer to be less charismatic from now on…'

'Come now, how will you land Lady Robin if you don't have any charisma?' Sahria said innocently. 'Although, from what I've heard you might still…'

'For the love of Naga, will people stop mentioning that!' Chrom cried in frustration before storming away.

'Heh…he so wants her!' Sahria snickered under her breath. She then wondered off, humming a tune her mother had once had the time to teach her.

Unfortunately, she didn't notice that Yana had been walking nearby and heard the tune. Immediately recognising the tune, she stopped and stared after the girl.

'Wait…isn't that…?'

()()()()()()()

 _Okay, so I never intended to make Raye Nowi's father originally, but as I was replaying Awakening yesterday I felt a little bad about the fact that she never knew where her parents were or what happened to them. Plus she's an adorable character and I wanted her to have a more happier chance at life, which is why this time around she remembered her mother and the woman's description of Raye's dragon form. I also obviously gave her (slightly) more of a background, something that I felt she lacked in the game, giving her an actual age._

 _Yeah, I may be one of those people that like characters to have a good life…_

 _By the way, you may be wondering why I skipped straight to 'The Grimleal' and missed 'Incursion', but worry not; everyone's fave red-headed, unrequited Chrom-lover will show up, just not in the same capacity as the game._

 _Finally…watch out Sahria…_

 _Ciao for now!_


	19. Chapter 16

-Chapter Sixteen- Of Daughters, Love and Kings-

Raye slowly opened his eyes and was greeted by the worried face of Nowi as soon as he had.

'So that wasn't a dream,' he muttered, making the small manakete frown in confusion for a moment.

'What do you mean, papa?' she asked.

'Never mind…' Raye sighed. 'I thought I told you to stop calling me that, by the way.'

'Why; you're papa, so why shouldn't I call you that?'

The two manaketes turned their heads when they heard a snort of laughter; Yana and Lissa, with Sahria hovering close beside them, had just entered the medical tent in time to hear Nowi's question.

'Yeah, Raye; why shouldn't she call you that?' Lissa sniggered. 'I mean, if you really are her father?'

'I still don't see how it's possible!' Raye protested. 'Sure, Aurora and I mated a few times but I don't think she would've kept the fact that we had a kid from me!'

Nowi spoke up in response. 'Um, mama told me that she wanted to tell you, but you'd disappeared before I was born…'

Raye frowned as he tried to remember what had happened over a thousand years ago. He then gained a guilty expression on his face a few moments later.

'Oh…yeah, now I remember…' he sighed. 'That was one of the few times I'd ever interacted with another dragon before my fight with Grima. If I remember correctly, Aurora and I spent one night...er…'mating' before I left the morning after.'

'Geez Raye, I don't think Nowi needed to hear that specifically!' Lissa blanched.

'I'm more concerned that you never tried to catch up with this Aurora woman any time after that!' Yana cut in, a disapproving look on her face.

'In my defence, after I nearly died I did actually try to look for her!' Raye replied. 'But since it had been over two hundred years since I had last seen her I was never able to find any trail of her.'

'Why not?'

'Because by that time nearly all of the divine dragons had either left or died out; I just assumed that Aurora had suffered one or the other.' Raye looked at Nowi, who smiled at him radiantly. 'Believe me, if I had known that Aurora had fallen pregnant…well, I'm not exactly sure WHAT I would have done.' He sighed. 'I…I don't even know if I would've been a good father to Nowi in the first place…'

Nowi reached out and touched Raye's hand. 'Well, now you can find out!' she pointed out cheerfully.

A small smiled tugged at the corners of Raye's mouth before he seemed to realise something.

'Hang on…there is one way to find out definitively if you are my daughter!' he said. When the others looked at him, the manakete nodded in the direction of his sword which was leaning against the cot beside him. 'Dragon's Rage was made from one of my fangs, much like Falchion was made from one of my mother's, so it can only be wielded by someone directly descended from my blood. If Nowi is able to lift it then that means, without a doubt, that she is really my daughter!'

'Raye, that monster of a sword is nearly twice as long as she is tall!' Yana argued. 'It's also nearly as wide as she is! Don't you think that you're being just a little ridiculous about this whole thing?'

Raye shook his head stubbornly. 'If she is who she says she is, then just humour me!' He then looked at Nowi. 'Well, go ahead and try.'

'But…' Yana made to protest further but Nowi cut her off.

'It's okay, lady; if papa needs proof of who I am, then I'll lift that sword of his!' she announced determinedly. She then approached the sword and looked up at it. 'Except...I can't really…reach it…' She looked down in embarrassment.

Raye sighed again and got off the cot. He then lifted Nowi onto his shoulders, causing the little girl to let out a squeak of surprise, and said, 'There, can you reach it now?'

Nowi nodded and indeed, now that she was on Raye's shoulders she was able to reach out and grasp the hilt of the massive weapon. A moment later, and much to the shock of the others, she easily lifted the weapon, the blade of which even seeming to glow the same way it did the last time Raye had wielded it.

'Huh…it's not as heavy as I thought, papa,' she mused, looking curiously at the weapon.

'Right…can you put it down now?' Raye asked in a neutral tone. Nowi did so and he slowly lowered her to the ground. 'Hmm…well…that's…' He looked at Nowi again, wonder now in his eyes mixed with an unreadable emotion. 'Guess you really are my daughter…'

The older manakete nodded once before keeling over again, almost hitting his head in the edge of the cot as he fell.

'Not again…!' Sahria sighed as Nowi and Yana hurried to his side while Lissa exploded into laughter.

()()()()()()()

Chrom looked up when Yana and Lissa walked into the command tent.

'Oh hey guys,' he greeted his sisters, Emmeryn and Tiki nodding at them as well. 'So, how's the new dad?'

Lissa snorted. 'Yeah, he fainted again when Nowi managed to pick up his sword.'

Chrom looked surprised. 'That massive thing? How?'

'Apparently it's like Falchion in that it was made from one of his fangs and can only be wielded by one of his own blood,' Yana explained as Lissa continued to snigger. The cleric then grinned. 'She was so tiny in comparison to it that Raye had to put her on his shoulders!'

Chrom and the others laughed.

'That must have been odd to see!' the prince chuckled.

Tiki smiled. 'I just wish that I had met this Aurora,' she sighed wistfully. Sahria had given them a quick rundown of what had happened, also mentioning the name of Nowi's mother. 'She must have been quite the dragon to catch my big brother's eye, certainly if she was able to have a child with him.'

It was at that moment that the man in question decided to walk in, a tired look on his face and Nowi hanging off his arm.

'Hey everybody,' he said and gestured down at the smaller girl. 'Thought I should introduce Nowi…my daughter…' He then whistled and Gregor walked in as well. 'Also, this is Gregor; he was with Nowi when we rescued her.'

'Ah, the mercenary,' Chrom said, shaking Gregor's hand. 'Yes, Sahria informed us of you.'

'Gregor is hoping that smaller scary dragon is making him out to be a hero!' the mercenary replied, grinning. 'And Gregor is hoping that Ylissean prince will agree to hire him.'

'Hire you?' Chrom repeated, raising an eyebrow.

Gregor drew himself up impressively. 'Gregor is assuring the prince that he is well worth the coin! And prince is not needing to worry about Gregor betraying him; sure, he may have done the betraying of his former employers, but that was only because they were quite the bad men!'

Emmeryn smiled at Gregor's words before turning to Chrom. 'Perhaps you should, Chrom? Sir Gregor seems to be of a worthy sort and also looks like he can hold himself in a fight.'

'If you of all people are saying that…then why not?' Chrom said and nodded at Gregor. 'As long as you prove yourself as trustworthy as you say, then I am more than willing to hire you.'

Gregor laughed and clapped Chrom on the shoulder. 'Gregor is thanking you, Prince of Ylisse and he promises that he will not disappoint! Now…' the man rubbed his hands together at this point. 'Where is place for feeding; Gregor is famished after fight and flight across desert!'

'I'll show you,' Raye replied. 'I suspect that Nowi is also feeling hungry, right?' He looked down at his daughter.

'Yep, that's for sure!' Nowi nodded eagerly.

'Alright then, follow me you two.'

With that, the two manaketes and the mercenary left the command tent, Sahria in tow and leaving behind an amused group of onlookers.

'Are you not going to go with them, Tiki?' Emmeryn asked, glancing at the manakete that had remained behind.

Tiki shook her head. 'No, I'll give big brother time to get to know Nowi. After that though, I might try to get to know my niece as well.'

'Very well,' the Exalt replied before turning back to the others. 'Perhaps then we can return to planning out our coming talk with King Gangrel?'

'Right…' Chrom cleared his throat, frowning down at the map that showed what was to be the meeting place.

'This place is pretty much just ruins,' he mused. 'In fact, I'm still slightly suspicious that Gangrel's chosen such remote place to hold peace talks at.'

'If you consider its history, it makes perfect sense that he would choose such a place,' Emmeryn replied.

'What's so special about this place?' Robin asked curiously.

'Right, you wouldn't know, sorry,' Chrom said and then explained. 'This place was once the sight of Plegia's old capitol. It was destroyed during a great earthquake a couple hundred years ago and ever since it has been the sight of several important meetings between Plegia and its allies.' He then grimaced. 'It was also were several high profile executions of captured enemy nobles happened during the war, which only incited our father further and made him even more determined to crush Plegia. Gangrel might have chosen this place purely to remind us of the atrocities of the war.'

'OR it might be because he wants to honour the old traditions of Plegia's past,' Emmeryn argued gently. 'Let's not jump to any conclusions in any case, hmm?'

'As you say,' Chrom muttered.

Robin frowned down at the map. 'What I'm worried about for the moment is the possibility of Gangrel hiding troops in the ruins.' She pointed at several lines that represented streets and ruined buildings. 'I mean, he could hide troops here and we wouldn't even realise it. Plus we're going to be on their home ground, so that's another thing we're going to have to worry about if a fight breaks out.'

'But we are going to do all we can to avoid that, aren't we?' Emmeryn pointed out. 'You can worry about the possibility of a fight, Chrom, I will focus on making sure that that doesn't happen.'

'You keep saying that, Emm, but still…' Chrom replied, worry etched on his face as he looked at the stubborn look on his sister's face.

'Chrom…I understand and respect your concerns, and I do take them seriously,' Emmeryn said gently. 'It's just…after our father died and left me the throne, I've always wanted to make sure that Ylisse was a land of peace. I MUST believe that there is a chance at it, even with Plegia and even if it is as slight as you believe.'

Chrom looked at the now determined look on Emmeryn's face before sighing.

'Yeah, alright, I get it,' he grumbled. 'I just hope that tomorrow goes as well as you believe.'

()()()()()()()()()

That night the mood in the food tent was subdued; they were all worried about the potential disaster that the next day might descend into. Even Vaike was quieter than usual.

'Chrom, you going to be okay?' Robin asked after she became restless at the silence.

The prince grinned humourlessly. 'Sure, if okay means that I'm going to be tenser than Frederick facing a plateful of bear.'

Robin chuckled while Frederick blushed.

'Milord, bear meat is a real and present danger to all those with good tastes!' the knight protested.

'Whatever you say, Freddy,' Lissa sniggered from where she was sitting next to Yana.

Frederick spluttered as the royals laughed. Chrom smiled sympathetically at his friend.

'Ah, sorry, Frederick,' he apologised. 'But really, it always confuses me that you can't handle bear meat!'

'It's more the texture, milord,' the knight replied in a dignified manner. 'Truly, if bear meat was less leathery than it is now, I would have no problem eating it.'

'For me it's the smell and the taste!' Lissa admitted.

'Honestly, bear meat's great,' Robin put in. 'Then again, I think I have the mindset that food's food and I shouldn't waste it.'

'Gods, you and Chrom were practically made for each other!' Lissa grumbled. She instantly noticed the way that Chrom's cheeks flushed and she smiled slyly. 'Of course, I think that any man would appreciate a woman who enjoys her food, huh Chrom?'

'A healthy appetite is always a good thing to have, yes,' Chrom replied, refusing to meet his sister's eye.

'Stop teasing him, Lissa,' Emmeryn spoke up, much to Chrom's relief. 'He needs to concentrate on the coming day's events.

'Fine, fine,' Lissa sighed.

A distraction that came in the form of loud giggles and a resigned sigh from the table next to them; Nowi was currently sitting on Raye's lap and talking to Sahria while Raye was trying to eat, a difficult task due to Nowi's current position. Tiki was also sitting at their table, but she was simply sitting there quietly with a small smile on her face as she watched.

'Y'know, maybe you should get to know your aunt, Nowi,' Raye finally suggested.

Nowi laughed. 'I can do that and still sit here, silly!' she said cheerfully. 'And anyway, you're the one I want to get to know more at the moment!' She looked quickly at Tiki. 'Not that I don't want to get to know you, I just want to connect with papa first.'

'That's alright, Nowi,' Tiki replied gently, now smirking slightly at the discomfort that she could see on Raye's face. 'I'm sure your papa will learn to love you as much as you clearly love him.'

'Traitor…' Raye muttered.

'That's for sure!' Nowi declared loudly, turning around and hugging Raye's neck and making all of the Shepherds let out loud snorts of laughter that they quickly attempted to cover.

'Why me?' Raye sighed.

()()()()()()()()

After dinner was over, Chrom found himself walking Robin back to her tent. They had left together when Vaike had started an eating contest with Stahl, both saying that they needed to get as much sleep as they could in preparation for the following day. For some reason, Lissa, Emmeryn and Yana all found this amusing and let them go on ahead.

'Your sisters are kinda strange,' Robin commented as they walked through the darkness of the camp.

'Yeah, but unfortunately I'm obligated to love them, no matter how weird they get!' Chrom replied jokingly.

'Wish I knew what that was like…' Robin sighed softly, half to herself, but Chrom heard her and immediately felt slightly bad for the tactician.

'Hey, don't think too much about that,' he said gently, stopping and putting a hand on her shoulder. 'I'm sure that you'll recover your memories in time, you just have to be patient.'

'I know, I just…worry that my family might be out there, worried sick…' Robin sniffed. She then shook herself. 'Sorry, I shouldn't be making you worry about me when we're going to have a very interesting day tomorrow. Forget I said anything.'

Chrom frowned but followed Robin as she moved towards her tent. When they arrived, she turned around to say good night to the prince, but went bright red when she felt Chrom's arms go around her as he embraced her.

'Chrom! Wha…what are you doing?!' she sqeaked.

'Just making sure you realise that, whatever your past may be, your future will always have me in it,' Chrom whispered in her ear. He then also went red when he realised what he had just said. 'I mean…you will always have a place by my side…OUR side…the Shepherds' side…you know what I mean.'

Robin laughed softly and returned the embrace hesitantly. 'I know…and I appreciate it…'

The two looked at each other for a moment before their faces began slowly moving towards each other. Before they knew it, their lips were pressed together in a tender kiss that soon became more passionate as the seconds went by. As soon as they began, they both felt the stress that had been slowly building up ever since the Risen had appeared and the looming war with Plegia was seemingly becoming more likely melt away.

'Chrom…' Robin whispered when they broke apart to take a breath. 'I know that it's selfish but…would you mind…spending the night?'

The prince gulped. 'Are you sure? But tomorrow…?'

'I'll feel better if I have a…calming presence with me…' Robin replied hesitantly. 'And if I'm going to be honest, I haven't been sleeping well ever since we began the trip to Plegia…'

Chrom studied her and he indeed saw the lines under Robin's eyes that he had never noticed until now. He then nodded mutely and he felt Robin's lips meet his once again as she dragged him into her tent.

When they entered, their kiss had become very eager and hungry. Without thinking, Chrom felt his hands begin to unbutton Robin's coat. As it fell to the ground, Robin had struggled for a moment before she had managed to release Chrom's shoulder guard and let it fall to the ground to join her coat. As they stumbled their way towards her cot, their lips never parting, each piece of their clothing was left behind in a scattered trail and when Robin finally fell on her back on the bedding, she and the prince were both completely naked.

'I thought we were going to get some sleep?' Chrom muttered in a joking tone even as he admired the attractive woman beneath him. He was very thankful that this time around, Robin was allowing him to see her naked body without the threat of being electrocuted.

'We'll sleep just fine in an hour or two…' Robin breathed, tracing her fingers across Chrom's muscled body. She then looked shyly up at the prince. 'Unless you don't want to….?'

'No, no, I definitely do!' Chrom replied hurriedly, wincing as he realised how eager he had sounded. 'I mean, if this is what it take to relax you, then I feel that it's worth it.

'I'm sure,' the tactician snickered as she drew Chrom down to plant a kiss on the man's neck. 'But you're right; I need to be as relaxed as I can be so that I can make the right decisions tomorrow and this will certainly help…'

With that, Robin flipped Chrom over onto his back and sat on his legs, his penis between her own as she gently stoked it. She then lifted herself up and slowly lowered her hips until she was just lightly pressing down on his tip.

She looked down teasingly at the prince, moving her hips in a slight circle as she said, 'Hmm…should I sit down now? I'm starting to wonder whether or not I really want to do this; you're rather large and it looks like it might hurt a bit.'

Chrom coughed and put his hands on her waist. 'Well, you never know unless you try…' he said, his nerves making his hands shake slightly, something that Robin immediately noticed and making her pause.

'Hang on…is this your first time?' she asked curiously.

The prince blushed. 'Maybe…okay, yeah…'

Robin smiled gently. 'Well, as far as I know this is my first time as well,' she pointed out, still moving her hips in a circular motion on Chrom's tip and sending tingles through his body. 'I guess this will be an experience for the both of us then.'

A moment later, she slowly lowered herself down Chrom's shaft, wincing slightly as her vagina resisted slightly at the thickness being inserted inside it. She then shivered as she finally managed to sit down completely on Chrom's hard penis.

The tactician sat there for several minutes, not moving but enjoying the feeling of Chrom being inside her. Small gasps were beginning to escape unbidden from her mouth, even more so when Chrom began rubbing his hands up and down her sides.

'Ah, Chrom…d…don't do that…' she mumbled, even as she began sliding back and forth in response. 'T…that's way too stimulating…so early on…' She made a mental note that she had now discovered the fact that she was very responsive to being touched is such a manner. 'At…at least wait a moment before…doing that…'

'Hey, I shouldn't be the only one feeling good,' Chrom muttered in reply, his hands sliding upwards and grasping the tactician's breasts between his hands.

The prince massaged them, his thumbs slowly rubbing her nipples as well, and he enjoyed the feel of the smooth, soft skin under his hands. At this encouragement, Robin let out an instinctual moan and began rocking back and forth more energetically. She also resumed rotating her hips in a circular motion and her hands reached up to clutch Chrom's hands to her chest, encouraging him to continue his massage of her chest.

'Chrom…chrom…' she moaned, her entire body now shivering in response to the pleasure that was washing over her.

Chrom merely grunted in reply and he began to thrust upwards, being rewarded with louder moans and even more energy being used in the tactician's movements. The cot was now creaking underneath their exertions, but the prince and the tactician weren't even aware of this, only being aware of the other's body and how they felt being connected in such an intimate way.

The tactician then paused and rolled over onto her back, her thighs clamping around Chrom's waist so that she could drag him over as well.

'Y…your turn to take charge, my prince…' she panted eagerly, opening her legs wider now so that Chrom had easier access to her love spot.

Chrom, trembling all over, struggled for a moment to guide his penis into Robin's awaiting gap, but he was eventually able to insert himself into the woman once again. He then began thrusting into her again, alternating between long, slow and deep thrust to quick short bursts of shallow movements. Chrom also put Robin's legs over his shoulders and she locked her ankles behind his head.

'Oh g…god…Chrom…!' she moaned loudly, now no longer caring if anyone would have been able to hear them and only focussing on making sure that she didn't faint from the waves of pleasure that threatened to overwhelm her. 'I…I think t…that…you're starting to…get really…good at this…!'

Chrom grinned blissfully at this praise and was spurred on to even greater exertions. Due to this, he began driving deeply into Robin, holding position for several seconds, drawing back afterwards before ramming back in. This caused Robin to arch her back, her fingers grasping the edges of the cot as she held on for dear life. She was now bucking under Chrom's attentions, her screams reverberating through the air, though still muffled to the outside world for now.

Suddenly, Robin untied her legs from behind Chrom's head, lowering them and sitting bolt upright. Her lips crashed against Chrom's as the prince sat back so that she could sit in his lap. She bounced up and then, at one point lifting her hips up so far that Chrom's throbbing penis stuck straight up in the air for a moment before she violently crashed her hips back down. This made Chrom let out a loud, chocking gasp and he clutched her closely to him, kissing and gently biting on the woman's breasts and nipples. Robin hugged Chrom close, burying the prince's face in her cleavage and enjoying the feel of her actions.

'R…Robin…suffocating…' Chrom's voice soon moaned, his voice muffled due to his face being covered by the tactican's breasts.

'S…sorry…!' Robin gasped and quickly let Chrom back out so that he could breathe.

Briefly making sure that Chrom was alright, Robin then began kissing him furiously and passionately, their tongues exploring each other's mouths even as their hips met again and again as they did.

What felt like only a few minutes later but was in reality nearly twenty, Robin pressed herself down forcefully even as Chrom thrust upwards with just as much energy and she let out a wail of pleasure, Chrom letting out a guttering groan in at the same time. They held that position for several seconds, both panting loudly as now tsunami levels of pleasure rocked them both.

Eventually, Robin collapsed onto her back, dragging Chrom down with her so that she could hug him tightly to her. After a while, she let go of the prince and he rolled onto his back beside her, though they still held hands.

'W…wow…' Robin panted, her heart pounding and her legs feeling weak after their love making. 'If you hadn't told me that that was your first time, I wouldn't have realised…'

'R…really?' Chrom replied tiredly, smiling drunkenly at Robin. 'You're not…just saying that?'

Robin rolled back onto him and looked him right in the eyes. 'Chrom, you were absolutely amazing,' she said firmly, her eyes gentle and loving. 'I'm more worried about my own performance, actually.'

Chrom grinned and gently rubbed her shoulders. 'You were also amazing,' he assured her.

The two went silent then, simply enjoying each other's company. After a while, Robin smiled slyly down at Chrom as she felt something hard digging into the flesh of her rear.

'What's this?' she commented teasingly, pushing back against the object slightly and making Chrom let out a gulp. 'Something seems to be invading my personal space…' The tactician looked down at the prince through lidded eyes. 'Maybe I should punish it…personally?'

'P…please do…' Chrom muttered eagerly.

Robin laughed and unceremoniously pushed her rear back so that Chrom's now once again hard penis penetrated her vagina from behind.

'Your wish is my command, my prince…' she purred and, as she slowly sat up and began bouncing up and down again, laced her fingers with Chrom's.

The two lovers didn't get to sleep until quite some time later.

()()()()()()()()

The next day, Chrom was sitting on his horse beside Emmeryn's as they rode cautiously through the ruins of what was once Plegia's former capitol.

'This place feels really creepy…' Robin muttered. She then blushed slightly when Chrom turned to look at her, the prince's face immediately mirroring hers.

'Y…yeah…' he agreed, stammering slightly and drawing a suspicious look from Lissa.

'Hey…are you two alright?' she asked narrowly. 'You've both been acting weird all morning…'

'It doesn't matter, Lis,' Chrom replied hurriedly, snapping his attention back to the front. He then cleared his throat and pointed at a group of people he could now see ahead of them. 'Look, we have company.'

The Shepherds soon reached the group of people and were greeted by a man who seemed to have a perpetual smirk on his face, who wore a red cloak, yellow clothing and a golden crown on his head, under which was messy brown hair.

'Exalt Emmeryn as I live and breathe!' the man said mockingly, bowing theatrically to the ruler of Ylisse. He then switched his attention to Chrom and his smirk grew. 'And Prince Chrom as well! My, Naga herself must have blessed me at some point, seeing as I find myself in such illustrious company!'

'King Gangrel, you…honour…us with your words,' Emmeryn replied in a friendly tone though her eyes tensed as she spoke to the Plegian king. 'I hope that you continue to feel so positively towards us as…'

Her words were cut off when Gangrel, who had been studying Emmeryn's companions, immediately recognised the green haired woman beside the Exalt. His eyes went wide in disbelief before a wide, lecherous grin slowly spread across his face.

'My, my, Emmeryn, you never said that you were going to bring along the _lovely_ Voice of Naga herself!' he leered. His eyes ran over Tiki, lingering suggestively on her chest and legs and making Raye take a step forward, growling.

'Keep your eyes to yourself, Plegian!' Tiki's brother snarled warningly. 'Lest you find them hanging out of their sockets!'

An injured look appeared on Gangrel's face as he turned to Emmeryn. 'My dear Exalt, are you simply going to allow one of your lackeys to threaten me like that?' he said in a clearly mocking tone. 'Is this the Ylisse that would seek an alliance of peace with my beloved Plegia?'

Emmeryn cleared her throat and looked pleadingly at Raye. After a moment, the manakete let out a huff and moved back to stand protectively next to his sister though his eyes never left Gangrel's.

The Exalt let out a sigh of relief before saying to Gangrel, 'I apologise for Lord Raye's words, my lord; you…merely acted in a slightly inappropriate manner towards his sister.'

'Wait…that brute is related to the sublime Lady Tiki?' Gangrel replied, genuinely surprised. He then looked closer at Raye and took in the fact that the other man also had green hair and pointed ears. 'Well, well…that IS news to me; I was under the impression that Lady Tiki was the only child of your beloved Naga?'

'It's…complicated, I'm afraid,' Emmeryn said evasively, praying that Gangrel would not question further on the subject of Raye's relation to Tiki.

Thankfully, Gangrel merely glanced once more at Raye before shrugging and gesturing for Emmeryn to dismount.

'Whatever, I didn't really care anyway,' he said dismissively.

The king led the way further into the ruins before they reached a courtyard. Chrom looked up in awe as he and the Shepherds beheld the skull of a giant dragon.

'Grima…' he heard Raye mutter darkly and the prince looked at the skull again, a feeling of dread briefly overtaking him.

Chrom felt a hand gently touch his for a moment and he looked around to see that it was Robin who had done so.

'It'll be okay,' she said gently. 'That dragon has been long dead and I don't think that he's going to be getting back up any time soon.'

'Right…thanks, Robin,' the prince whispered back, smiling at her.

The two then joined Emmeryn, who was waiting patiently as Gangrel began pacing in front of her.

'So…you wish for peace between our people, my dear Exalt Emmeryn?' the king said eventually, stopping in front of the Exalt.

'If you are agreeable, then yes, I would dearly like that,' Emmeryn replied quickly.

'Hmm…' Gangrel pretended to muse for a few minutes. A sly look then crossed his face after he let the façade fade away. 'Then perhaps you'd like to tell me why a squadron of YOUR pegasus knights crossed our borders and attacked one of MY villages!'

A shocked silence followed Gangrel's words before Emmeryn quickly protested.

'That cannot be!' she cried. 'No pegasus knight would ever be so foolish to do such a thing!'

'Are you sure about that?'

'Positive!'

'Then you won't mind if I execute the survivors?' Gangrel cackled at the horrified looks on Emmeryn and Chrom's faces and he held up a hand. 'BRING THEM OUT!'

A moment later, three women were forced into the courtyard, their necks collared and attached to the chains of a huge man wearing an executioner's hood. The man jerked the chains when he had reached Gangrel and the three women fell to their knees. The women lifted up their faces to look at the Exalt and their ruler gasped; all three women were young, were dressed in rags and all had bruises on their faces. One of the women was a brunette and another had long pink hair. However it was the last woman, a beautiful red head, that Chrom and the other Shepherds immediately recognised. Sumia especially recognised the woman, as well as the others.

'Cordelia?!' Sumia gasped as she ran towards the woman and threw her arms around her. She then looked at the other two. 'Sammy? Enid? Wh…what did they do to you?!'

She was kicked backwards by the executioner as Gangrel let out a triumphant cackle.

'SO! They ARE known to you, Emmeryn!' he laughed cruelly. 'I hope you know what this means? It means that Ylisse made an attack on innocent civilians of Plegia, meaning that there will be NO peace talks!'

With that, Gangrel stared at Emmeryn. 'But I might be willing to forgive you…IF you obey my every demands!'

'And what demands might those be?' Emmeryn said, shaken but still returning Gangrel's stare unflinchingly. 'And will they include the safe return of my own citizens?'

'That depends…are you willing to sacrifice yourself for them?'

Chrom, a furious look on his face, stepped protectively in front of his sister. 'And what do you mean by that, Gangrel?' he demanded.

'That's KING Gangrel, boy!' the Plegian monarch snapped before grinning. 'And I meant that, if Emmeryn really wants to save her folk, then she must give up her own life for them instead!' He threw out his arms and span on the spot for a moment. 'What will it be, Emmeryn; will you allow these lovely ladies die, or will you allow _your_ head to fall in their place?'

'Y…your highness…!' the woman Sumia had identified as Enid spoke up then through gritted teeth. 'D…don't worry about us! We would gladly give our lives so that you may live!'

Gangrel pointed at her before clapping. 'Now see? There's an example of loyalty that I think all of us can appreciate!' He then nodded at the executioner. 'Show her how we Plegians feel about the loyalty of an Ylissean!'

The executioner nodded slowly before bending down and grasping Enid's neck in one huge hand. The man then picked her up and held her in the air and slowly began to choke the knight. The woman struggled in his grip, fingers scrabbling desperately at the man's hand, before the executioner suddenly clenched his fist and snapped her neck.

As Enid's body fell to the ground, a roar of protest came from the Ylisseans while Lissa and Sumia feel to their knees, sobbing. Emmeryn's royal guard gathered protectively around her as she looked, horrified and shocked, at Enid's fallen body.

No one noticed the flames that began to slowly ignite across Raye's body as he too stared down at what once was a proud and loyal knight of Ylisse, though all those with the Brand of the Exalt began to feel their brands slowly heat up. They ignored it however, to focussed on the horrifying event that had just occurred in front of them.

'How…how could you do that?!' Yana then screamed, tears streaming down her face. 'She was your prisoner! Don't you have a basic knowledge of how you should treat such a person?!'

Gangrel shrugged. 'I merely treated her like Exalt Uther treated my own citizen!' he growled, a dangerous glint in his eyes as he stared at Emmeryn. 'Do you remember the tales of the atrocities your father allowed during his mad lust for power all those years ago? Ylisse may have forgotten, but Plegia never will!' He then pointed at Sammy. 'Her turn now! And the red headed slut!'

Before anyone could react, the executioner drew the giant claymore and, without even seeming to use that much effort, plunged the sword tip down and punched through the top of the helpless woman's head, shattering it and continuing the thrust so that the man tore her body apart.

'DAMN YOU GANGREL, STOP THIS!' Chrom yelled in fury, stepping forwards with Falchion drawn.

He was stopped by Raye, who was staring down at the ground and a dangerous aura surrounding his body.

'Chrom…get Emmeryn and the others out of here…' he said, surprisingly softly. 'I'll get your friend…'

Tiki looked quickly at her brother and her eyes widened as she felt the waves of fury that were radiating from him.

'Prince Chrom, do as he says!' she said cautiously, taking Sahria and Nowi by the shoulders and leading them away.

'Wait, why are we leaving papa!' Nowi cried desperately, trying to wriggle out of Tiki's grip to no avail.

'Everyone, we need to leave right now!' Tiki shouted, ignoring Nowi's attempts for freedom and ushering the Ylisseans back. She then looked over her shoulder at her brother. 'Please, Fyrayus…rescue her and then come STRAIGHT back…alright?'

Raye didn't look back at her as he said, '…I'll try…' He then roughly shoved Chrom back in the direction of the retreating Ylisseans, drawing his blade as he slowly stalked towards the executioner, who had paused to look at him. 'Go with them, Prince Chrom of Ylisse…'

'What are you going to do?' Chrom asked cautiously as he sheathed Falchion.

'I intend to rescue your friend, that's all,' Raye replied calmly.

Chrom hesitated for one final second before running back to join his family, who had taken cover behind a ruined wall at the advice of Tiki.

()()()()()()()

Meanwhile, from where she was hiding alongside her fellow Plegian mages, a raven haired dark mage suddenly felt a feeling of dread enter her body. However, the feeling sent a shock of pleasure through her body and she let out a small gasp, feeling her knees grow weak momentarily before she regained control of her faculties.

'What is this…?' she purred under her breath. 'Such power…such presence…' she shivered. 'Dark it might not be but it is so _very_...stimulating either way…!'

Suddenly reaching a decision, she quickly opened her tome and, chanting under her breath, impaled every single one of her comrades through their throats with spikes of dark magic.

'I would apologise, but I never cared for any of you,' she said dismissively, not even registering the thuds of her victims' bodies falling to the ground. 'And I simply MUST know who the source of this overwhelming power is!'

()()()()()()()()

 _Well, that escalated quickly…_

 _First things first, I feel that I must apologise for the more…intimate section of this chapter between Robin and Chrom. If you feel that it might be a little out of place, my reasoning for this is, due to all of the stress of the past chapters finally reaching breaking point, they both needed an outlet for it. Trust me, if I had decided to pair them with different people, you may very well have read two different intimate sections._

 _Secondly, this is the first attempt at this sort of writing that I have made, and it might be the last; it was very awkward for me to write and I will admit to some relief when I returned to your regularly scheduled story. Of course, if you guys want more of that, I will endeavour to have your wishes met._

 _Finally, the next chapter is going to be called 'Dragon's Fury' and you will see what happens when Raye goes completely ballistic. Don't worry, Cordelia will be fine and Gangrel will survive to be killed later due to plot armour. All the other Plegians though…_

 _Ciao for now!_


	20. Chapter 17

-Chapter Seventeen- Dragon's Fury-

'So, what's likely to happen right now?' Chrom asked Tiki as he watched the deceptively calm Raye walk slowly towards the executioner.

Tiki looked worriedly at her brother as she replied, 'I'm not sure. My brother has always hated to see innocent people suffer, especially if they die pointlessly like those two pegasus knights did.' She wrung her hands together nervously. 'He may just rescue the survivor…but more than likely he will slaughter everything in his way once she is safe.'

The others looked at her with some apprehension before Robin elbowed Chrom in the side.

'Chrom, I think we have more things to worry about!' she said urgently and pointed.

Chrom looked in the direction indicated and swore when he saw that Plegian troops had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and had surrounded them.

'Shepherds! Royal Guard!' he shouted, drawing Falchion and rushing to face the enemy troops as they began to charge towards them. 'On me!'

With answering cries, the Ylisseans formed a thin line between the oncoming Plegians and Emmeryn as they drew weapons and readied themselves.

()()()()()()()()

Raye stopped a few inches from where Cordelia was lying on the ground, her expression one of confusion and hope as she looked up at the manakete. He glanced down at her and smiled at her thinly.

'Don't worry; I'll get you out of here,' he said, calm but shaking with suppressed rage.

At this, Gangrel scoffed.

'And how does one man, even a dragon, expect to do so?' he taunted. He then whistled and the hidden Plegians swarmed out of the surrounding ruined houses and took up positions, weapons and hands pointed in the manakete's direction. For his part, Raye merely glanced around at them before smiling again, though this smile was one a predator might make when looking at small prey.

'Hmm…I sense many dragon slaying weapons…' he mused, tapping Dragon's Rage's tip against the soft sand. None of the Plegians noted that where the tip touched, the sand was immediately turned to ash. 'You really were prepared for anything, weren't you?'

'Of course!' Gangrel cackled. 'Did you really think that I wasn't aware of the fact that there were manakete's in Emmeryn's company? I've had spies in Ylisstol ever since I became king, and they immediately sent word when you arrived with that lost princess!' He leered at the man before him. 'Hey, how good does her body feel, by the way? I hear you two are VERY close! Never far from her side, if my spies aren't mistaken!' The mad king licked his lips. 'Maybe when we're done slaughtering you, I'll go find her and find out for myself!'

At Gangrel's last words, Raye had frozen.

'You…don't you EVER talk about her like that!' he suddenly snarled. 'If you even try to touch her, I will tear out your intestines and use them to hang whatever family you might have!'

'Oooo, did I touch a nerve?' Gangrel laughed mockingly. 'Now I'm REALLY curious as to what she'll feel like under me, all tied up and BEGGING for me to take her!' He smirked. 'And believe me, when I'm done with her, she'll be my willing slave until the day she dies! But of course, why would I waste the body of such a beautiful…'

Gangrel's words were cut off when Dragon's Rage went flying past him and impaled a heavy knight who had been standing behind him. As Gangrel looked around, slightly shocked, the man let out a scream before being completely disintegrated.

Raye held out a hand and his sword flew back into it.

'Damn, my aim's off,' he commented conversationally, dangerously calm now. 'Well, I have been out of practice for several centuries, but you know what they say about that!'

'What?' Gangrel snapped, now feeling slightly nervous.

'PRACTICE MAKES SEVERAL PLEGIANS DEAD!' the manakete roared suddenly, hate and rage fuelling his words.

Before he moved however, he gestured in Cordelia's direction and a bubble of white magical energy surrounded her.

'You'll be safe in there,' he said, more calmly.

Cordelia nodded dumbly as Raye stepped towards the executioner, who held up his sword in preparation of Raye's attack.

However, the manakete's body seemed to blur and a moment later he appeared behind the executioner. There was one moment of silence before the Plegian suddenly burst into a bloody mist, chunks of his body falling to the ground in a large radius even as Raye continued his slow march towards Gangrel.

At this display, Gangrel's eyes widened in fear and he stumbled back towards the safety of the rear of his troops.

'KILL HIM, YOU FOOLS!' he screamed as he took cover behind a pillar.

With a roar, the Plegians sprang into action.

Dozens of heavily armoured knights stomped towards Raye as archers and mages let fly with arrows and magic. Overhead, several groups of wyvern riders flew out from behind Grima's skull and also made their way towards the enraged manakete.

Raye halted as several arrows bounced off his armour and hissed in annoyance as more pierced his legs and arms. He then stumbled as the spells sent his way impacted with his chest and forced him back a step, but he recovered almost immediately. Unfortunately, the manakete didn't have time to react as all of the knights that had rushed him then impaled him from several different directions. He slumped forwards slightly, held in place by the lances of the Plegians as they looked at each other in surprise.

'Wait…is that it?' one asked, slowly laughing. 'Guess he wasn't as tough as he thought!'

'Is that so?' a voice suddenly whispered in his ear from directly behind him.

The knight let out a startled yelp before a hand burst through his chest, penetrating flesh and armour both. The other knights recoiled and saw to their horror that the hand was now gripping the man's still beating heart. They then looked to where Raye should have been but immediately saw that he was no longer there, since he was now standing directly behind their now dead comrade.

Raye withdrew his arm from the corpse of his victim and looked curiously at the heart in his hand as the corpse thudded to the ground.

'You humans always were so VERY fragile,' he commented before crushing the heart in a burst of blood. He then smiled manically at the rest of the knights. 'I wonder how long you guys will last? I'm betting…not very!'

With that, Raye seemed to be everywhere at once for the next few seconds, his body once again blurred as he massacred the knights in various ways. Some, he merely snapped the necks of, while others were disintegrated when Raye rammed Dragon's Rage into their bodies and engulfed them in the flames that danced along its length. Still others met their end when he crushed their heads with his bare hands, their helmets crumpling at the pressure and shattering the skulls hidden within. Two very unfortunate knights perished when Raye picked one man up by his legs and used his armoured, screaming body to brutally beat to death another. He then threw his erstwhile human weapon with enough force in the direction of Grima's skull that the knight was impaled on one of the still very sharp teeth.

'DID YOU LIKE THAT, GRIMA?!' Raye roared as he watched the Plegian slide slowly down the tooth with a sadistic glee. 'I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO KILL YOU YOURSELF, BUT YOUR PATHETIC MINIONS ARE MORE THAN BREAKABLE!'

The manakete then flung out a hand in the direction of some cowering mages. A moment later, a huge circle of magical runes appeared in the air and surrounded them before a huge clawed hand made out of a raging inferno burst from the ground beneath their feet and grabbed them, engulfing them in flames and making them all scream with excruciating pain. Raye grasped his own hand and the flaming hand crushed the unfortunate mages, their screams cut off as their bodies burst and blood spurted in all directions.

'WHO'S GOING TO BE MY NEXT PLAYTHING!' Raye roared then, now beginning to laugh sadistically as he stalked towards the next group of Plegians, who all screamed and scrambled to flee away from both the flames racing towards them and the sight of the enraged manakete.

'AMUSING, BUT YOU CANNOT RUN!' the manakete laughed cruelly.

Moments later, several spears of golden magic were summoned above his head, each one being a just as powerful Naga's Lance as the one he had used during the attack on Ylisstol. Throwing his arm down, the enraged manakete shot all of the Lances forward and they wreaked bloody havoc amongst the lines of retreating Plegians, impaling their victims before punching through their torsos and continuing their macabre flight.

As the Lances annihilated dozens of Plegians, Raye was wreaking even more havoc on those that attempted to flee the massacre. Every single Plegian that had managed to survive the initial barrage of Lances were met with flames that encircled them, slowly decreasing the radius before exploding when they touched the flesh of any caught within. The explosions resulted in the sands of the desert being painted with random patches of blood and gore.

Gangrel meanwhile, had mysteriously vanished some time ago.

()()()()()()()()

'Chrom, watch out!' Robin yelled as she shoved Chrom to the side just in time to save the prince from meeting his end at the end of a knight's lance. She then sent a bolt of lightning at the knight and her spell pierced the man's armour and went straight through his chest.

As the man's body fell to the sands, Robin helped Chrom to his feet.

'Thanks, Robin!' the prince panted. 'I owe you one!'

'Think of it as repayment for last night!' she joked, though she went red in the face as she spoke.

Chrom chuckled. 'Yeah, we've really gotta talk about that after all this is done! You've completely changed my world, after all!'

'Sure…but perhaps let's get back to the battle at hand?' Robin suggested, turning away so that Chrom couldn't see the slightly pleased smile on her face.

'Milord!' Frederick announced his arrival and completely ruined the mood, at least in Chrom's opinion.

'Yes Frederick?' the prince sighed and turned to look at his knight.

'We've secured a way out!' the great knight informed his prince. 'We can get Exalt Emmeryn out in that direction!' Frederick pointed to where there was indeed a break in the Plegian lines.

'Right, good job Frederick!' Chrom said. He then gestured for the royal guard who were protecting his sister to follow him. 'Come on, we're getting you out of here, Emm!'

'R…Right…' Emmeryn stammered and quickly followed Chrom as he led the way, flanked by both her guard and Lissa and Yana.

' _We've got your back, Prince Chrom!'_ Nowi, who had transformed along with Tiki, said as she and the Voice of Naga flew into the air and circled their little group. Prior to reaching the meeting sight, Raye had slipped a spare dragonstone he had been carrying to his daughter, which turned out to be a fortunate moment of foresight. _'We'll deal with anyone that comes for you!'_

'Thanks you two!' Chrom said, saluting with Falchion up at the two dragons. He then glanced over his shoulder as a huge pillar of flame erupted from the direction of Raye's own battle. 'Really hope he's calmed down when he rejoins us!' he muttered under his breath.

With that, the prince cut through any Plegians that managed to avoid the fire of the two overhead dragons as he led the way through the break in the Plegians' lines.

()()()()()()()()

Elsewhere on the battlefield, Lucina found herself fighting side by side with Sahria; the two young women had found themselves together when a push from the Plegians had separated them from the rest of the Ylissean forces.

'Duck!' Lucina heard Sahria shout suddenly and instinctively she obeyed, feeling the wind from a sword strike sailing through the spot where her head had been only moments before.

'Thanks!' the bluenette nodded, plunging her version of Falchion into the Plegian's chest.

'No probs, Not-Marth!' the manakete winked back, causing Lucina to sigh briefly; it appeared that Raye's apprentice had heard about the unintentional nickname that he had given her.

'Just call me Lucina, would you?' she grumbled as she and Sahria stood back to back.

Sahria grinned to herself. 'Sure thing; Lucina's way cuter anyway! Matches you as well!'

Lucina blinked and was almost struck down when a hammer wielding warrior came screaming towards her. Blocking the horizontal strike that was aimed at her then, the girl countered with an upward swing that sheared off the man's left arm. As he fell to his knees in front of her, Lucina then decapitated him with another easy swing of her Falchion.

She then found herself being forced to the ground when Sahria, who had noticed several archers aiming for her flung the both of them down. Lucina also found herself staring up into Sahria's purple eyes, which held a look of mischief as the manakete shielded them both by creating a small golden bubble to cover them.

'Sorry for invading your personal space, but I figured it was either this or let ya become a pincushion!' the manakete commented cheerfully.

'N…no…this is fine…' Lucina stammered, feeling her heart skip a beat and an odd, warm feeling start to radiate from it. She then blushed when she realised that there was a small pressure on her chest, the source being Sahria's own, more defined bust. 'But…um…can you get off me now?'

Sahria tilted her head, looking down at the bluenette curiously, but complied, making the bubble grow so that they could both stand but still be protected beneath it.

'Why didn't you just create a shield in the first place?' Lucina pointed out as she dusted herself off, still slightly embarrassed by the odd feeling she had felt a moment ago.

'Didn't have time,' Sahria explained.

The manakete then summoned her knight and directed it towards the group of archers. As the knight began to systematically annihilate the lightly armoured Plegians, Sahria let her shield dissipate.

'By the way, has anyone ever told you that you smell great?' the manakete then commented, using the brief lull in combat to briefly sniff Lucina, whose cheeks once again became enflamed. 'Kinda like Chrom, actually, though way better.'

'D…do you think he smells good?' Lucina stammered, quickly stepping back from the manakete.

Sahria shook her head, grinning at the sudden nervousness that Lucina was now exhibiting. 'Nah, he smells too much like a guy; you are much more my preference.'

Lucina was unable to comment further when more Plegians charged towards them.

'Let's continue this later, yeah?' the manakete chuckled and turned to face the oncoming tide of opponents.

'Y…yeah…'

()()()()()()()()

Meanwhile, from her hiding spot, the dark mage who had turned on her former comrades was watching Raye's display of might with wide eyes. As she saw his rage mounting with eager eyes, her left hand slowly made its way down her body before slipping beneath her small cloths. She moaned as she began moving her fingers, her eyes never leaving the form of the enraged manakete as he tore through the lines of her erstwhile allies.

'Oh my…this power…this RAGE!' she moaned, shivering slightly at her own attentions. 'This…this is absolutely…PERFECT!' She bit her lip to avoid letting a louder moan from escaping her. 'Oh, I MUST have him!'

With that, she removed her fingers from where she had been pleasuring herself, wiped them on the stone beside her and slipped out of her hiding place. She then made her way in the direction of the battle taking place below her.

()()()()()()()()

'COME ON, IS THIS ALL THE ENTERTAINENT YOU WORTHLESS HUMANS CAN OFFER ME?!' Raye demanded angrily as he dropped the headless, armless and legless torso of his latest victim; he had torn the man limb from limb before crushing the man's head against the corner of a ruined house, shattering both. 'SURELY GRIMA'S FAITHFUL WOULD WANT TO PUT UP MORE OF A FIGHT AGAINST A DRAGON THEIR MASTER BESTED CENTURIES AGO?!'

He stood there, panting, surrounded by a bloody field of limbs, heads and guts. He noticed one man crawling away, groaning in fear even as he left behind a leg that had only partially been torn off, and threw Dragon's Rage in his direction. The blade of the massive weapon impaled the man through the back before igniting once again. Dragon's Rage then flew back towards its master as the ashes of its victim were blown away in the wind.

After the blade had returned to his hand, the manakete then tore his way through the remaining Plegians, many of whom he had already brutally incapacitated. As he slaughtered his way through them, he searched desperately for any sign of Gangrel, his fury rising when he failed to find any.

'WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU, YOU COWARD!' he roared, throwing the already dead body of a Plegian archer through the stone wall of a ruined house as he raged at the absence of his true prey. 'I SWEAR, ONCE I FIND YOU I'M GOING TO PEEL OFF EVERY LAYER OF YOUR SKIN UNTIL I REACH YOUR BONES AND THEN USE THEM TO KILL EVERY SINGLE PERSON YOU MIGHT HAVE LOVED OR WHO MIGHT HAVE LOVED YOU, THOUGH I SUSPECT THAT THAT NUMBER IS TINY!'

In his fury, the flames that encompassed him flared wildly, engulfing the corpses around him and disintegrating them. The flames also turned the sand into glass, the light of the sun overhead causing the newly formed glass to glitter beneath it. Indeed, all across the area that Raye had stalked, glass could be seen, smooth but shattered in some places where Raye had been particularly ruthless towards his victims.

Suddenly, Raye detected a presence behind him and whipped around, lashing out with flames only to be surprised when they were blocked by a wall of shadow. Calming slightly, curious that something had managed to block his rage fuelled attack, he cocked his head when the shadows dissipated to reveal a very attractive female dark mage, in revealing clothing that didn't leave much to the imagination, with midnight black hair and dark brown eyes. The woman was gazing at him with an expression he couldn't quite place either way he saw that it was not one of hostility.

'Who are you?' he asked shortly. 'Be you friend or foe?'

'Friend, very much so in fact,' the woman calmly replied immediately, her eyes trailing across his body as she studied him.

'Good for you, but WHO are you?'

'Tharja, my lord,' the woman introduced herself.

'And why are you here?' the manakete asked suspiciously, shooting a fireball at a Plegian who was trying to sneak away without even looking. 'You appear to be a Plegian dark mage, but why do I sense that you don't want to fight me?'

'Considering what you have done to the rest of my countrymen, can you really blame me?' Tharja scoffed. 'Though using the word 'countrymen' really makes my blood boil. In all honesty, I'm glad you've killed so many of them!'

Raye, taken aback, looked at her. He found that his rage was slowly receding due to his surprise at this sudden, civilized conversation. 'Why do I get the feeling you hate your fellow Plegians?'

Tharja let out another scoff. 'Oh please, I may be Plegian like them but that is where the similarities stop; they are NOTHING like me!' She then looked at Raye slyly. 'As are you; you're far different from any man that I've ever met before!' The dark mage shrugged then. 'I find myself wanting to pledge myself to you, if only to save myself from suffering the same fate.' The last part was a lie; Tharja's real reason was something that, internally, was making her giggle.

Raye raised an eyebrow. 'Well, you're bold I'll give you that!' he remarked, still slightly nonplussed at this puzzling woman. He then frowned. 'But I fail to see why I shouldn't just kill you anyway; after all, you came here with Gangrel, didn't you?'

'Yes, but I've since killed my old companions,' Tharja replied quickly. She then took a step forward and bowed clumsily. 'As soon as I felt your power, I knew that I didn't stand a chance. Clap me in irons if you wish, but…' Here, she gritted her teeth but still willed herself to continue. '…PLEASE spare my life. I will gladly defect if you do.'

The manakete studied the dark mage in front of him. From her, he could feel a surprisingly powerful aura of magic, dark as it was, and if had to admit to himself, now that he was calming down he felt suddenly very tired of killing.

'You know…if you had appeared a few seconds earlier I might have simply killed you before you even spoke…' he mused slowly. He then sighed. 'But…considering that I've completely slaughtered every other Plegian that's gotten in my way I find myself no longer wanting to kill any more.' The manakete let out a huff. 'Besides, you're the only female Plegian I've seen today, and since you haven't exactly tried anything I'm loathe to add you to my kill tally. It would make me a hypocrite, if nothing else.'

'Then…you will spare me?' Tharja asked, pretending to sound cautious but internally she was smirking in triumph.

'Sure…but the instant you DO try anything I will burn you where you stand!' Raye replied warningly.

Tharja shivered at his words, though the manakete mistook that for fear, and said, 'Fair enough, but I promise you that I will not do anything to make you think like that.'

'Well…alright then…' Raye said, not sure what to make of the strange woman who had brought him out of his rage simply because she was a complete puzzle to him. He then looked towards where he could just make out the Ylisseans finishing off the other force of Plegians. 'Guess their little fight's over; come on, if you really are here to defect you can carry that Cordelia lady for me.'

A look of displeasure briefly appeared on Tharja's face, but she relented and nodded.

'Very well,' she muttered.

With that, Raye and his new 'friend' made their way over to where Cordelia was still protected by the bubble of magic Raye had set around her. As Tharja looked curiously at the bubble, instantly detecting the power that it exuded, Raye dispelled the magic and stood back as Cordelia slowly got to her feet. He noticed immediately that the woman had a look of fear on her face as she looked at him and he sighed, already ashamed of the rage that he had allowed to overtake him.

'Are you alright?' he eventually asked, trying to put a gently tone to his words. Cordelia nodded mutely and he sighed. 'Good. Now, Tharja here is going to help you, since by your expression I can see that you would be way too nervous if it was me.'

'Oh…no, I…I'm sorry if I gave you that impression!' Cordelia hurriedly replied. 'It was just…I've never seen such a display before and…truth be told, I'm more afraid of your power than you yourself.'

Raye raised an eyebrow. 'You…do realise that that's pretty much the same thing, right?' Cordelia shrugged and he shook his head. 'Naga, but you humans really are odd sometimes. Why fear the power and not the one that used it?' He walked off, muttering under his breath about how humans were always going to confuse him, gesturing for the two women to follow.

'Come on, you may as well…lean…on me,' Tharja snapped, wanting to go after Raye as soon as possible.

'Okay…thank you…?' Cordelia replied hesitantly, surprised by the instant feeling of hostility that Tharja was emitting.

Once the pegasus knight was secure, the dark mage stumbled after the retreating back of the manakete, grumbling internally even as she giggled to herself at the sight of Raye's retreating form.

' _Is…is she giggling?'_ Cordelia thought to herself uncomfortably.

()()()()()()()()

'So, how many of us died?' Chrom asked grimly as he surveyed the battlefield now that the surviving Plegians had retreated.

'A couple of Emmeryn's royal guard, but surprisingly none of the Shepherds,' Robin replied. 'There are some minor wounds, but apart from that everyone pulled through just fine.'

Chrom looked grateful at the tactician's words. 'Now that's a surprise!' he remarked. 'Still though, we lost some good men today, Shepherds or not.' Chrom sighed. 'I'll inform their families when we get back to Ylisstol.'

'No, Chrom; that duty belongs to me,' Emmeryn interrupted. 'They were of my guard, and so the responsibility for their deaths falls on my shoulders.'

'Emm…' Chrom said gently, but his sister shook her head firmly.

'I am adamant in this, Chrom,' she replied, smiling sadly. 'I do appreciate your intentions, though, but this is simply something that a ruler must come to terms with having to do at some point. I would be a poor ruler if I allowed someone else to do such a grim duty on my behalf.'

'Since you feel that way…but if you need anything, just let me know,' Chrom said, putting a comforting hand on his sister's shoulder.

'I will, thank you.'

The three of them then turned their backs on the battlefield and made their way back to where the Shepherds were making camp on the outskirts of the ruined city.

On their way to the command tent, they came across an unfamiliar blonde woman dressed in robes that made it clear she belonged to the Ylissean church.

'Hey, who are you?' Chrom asked, sterner than he had meant. 'I don't recall ever seeing you amongst our number before now.'

The woman fell to her knees in front of Emmeryn and prostrated herself. 'Apologies, your highnesses, but I was unable to introduce myself due to only arriving midway through your battle!' She looked up and they saw that the woman had clear blue eyes. 'I am a survivor of a Naga sect that was attempting to introduce our faith to the Plegians, but when Gangrel found out he attacked and slew many of my number!' The woman's eyes filled with tears as she bowed her head. 'I've lost many friends during my time here in Plegia, but when I heard that the Exalt herself would be coming to Plegia I knew that I had a chance to avenge them! And now, I throw myself at your feet and beg of you to forgive my failure!'

Emmeryn smiled kindly down at the woman and crouched in front of her, lifting her chin so that they could look at each other. 'There is nothing to forgive, my friend,' she assured the woman. 'You tried your best and that is all that I can ever ask of anyone under my rule. Pray, what is your name?'

'Libra, your holiness!' the woman quickly replied.

'Then rise, Sir Libra, and be relaxed in the knowledge that I appreciate your intentions for coming here, and mourn as well the murders of your fellow faithful.'

As Libra rose to her feet, Chrom frowned at something that had confused him.

'Wait…'Sir' Libra?' he asked, confusion on his face. 'Don't you mean 'Lady' Libra?' Beside him, Robin also frowned, just as confused as he was as she studied Libra. A moment later, the tactician's face went red as she realised something that the prince had clearly missed.

Emmeryn looked at her brother oddly then. 'Perhaps…if Libra was a woman in the first place.'

Chrom stared at her. 'Huh?'

Libra cleared HIS throat. 'Er…I'm sorry your highness, but I am…a man…'

The prince did a double take, his eyes immediately snapping down to look at the man's chest, which made Robin slap him on the back of his head before his eyes flew upwards to stare at the person he now saw was clearly, in fact, a man.

'Oh, Naga…!' he sighed before sprinting off towards his tent in embarrassment.

Robin rolled her eyes, though she was relieved that she had realised Libra's actual gender before she had made a mistake like Chrom's.

'He really doesn't know how to deal with surprises, does he?' she sighed.

'I'm starting to get that feeling, yes,' Emmeryn chuckled.

()()()()()()()

Meanwhile, Raye and Tharja had just brought Cordelia to the healer's tent and the pegasus knight was now being tended to by Maribelle.

'How is she?' Raye asked as he watched the troubadour hold her staff near Cordelia.

'She will be fine, my Lord,' Maribelle replied. 'In no small thanks to you as well, so I suppose congratulations and gratitude are in order.' She then glared at Tharja, who was standing behind Raye. 'But why is someone like HER accompanying you, may I ask?'

Raye looked back at Tharja briefly before replying. 'Eh, she turned up some time after I'd killed most of her countrymen and asked to defect to our side.'

'And you believed her? Just like that?'

'I'm a good judge of character, Maribelle; while she may be giving off a pretty dark aura, I get the feeling that she won't betray us,' the manakete relied soothingly. 'Besides, I already told her that I'd destroy her if she ever did.'

The troubadour still looked doubtful but relented. 'Very well, I trust that you know what you are doing, my lord.'

'Quit it with the 'lord' thing, Maribelle,' Raye replied, though he smiled slightly. He then yawned. 'Now, I think I'm going to go get some rest.'

'Shouldn't you have your own wounds checked out?' Yana quickly spoke up from where she had been treating a gash on Sumia's arm.

'They'll be healed by tomorrow,' Raye shrugged dismissively. 'Seriously, I've had worse.'

Yana grumbled. 'Fine, but just be sure to look after yourself in any case.'

'Don't I always?' Raye joked.

Yana raised her eyebrows but didn't comment. Raye then left the tent, Tharja following him, and stepped outside. He then looked at the dark mage.

'You should probably go and introduce yourself to Chrom and the others,' he suggested, gesturing to where he could see Emmeryn and Robin standing alongside a blonde woman. 'Wouldn't want you to be attacked because of a misunderstanding.'

'Shouldn't you be the one to introduce me then?' Tharja countered, displeased at the thought of leaving the manakete's side.

'Nah, just tell them that I'm vouching for you and you should be fine!' Raye let out another yawn. 'Well, good luck I guess, now I'm gonna get some much needed rest!'

With that, the manakete quickly made his way through the campsite, a sightly displeased dark mage watching his as he went.

'Oh, I never thanked him…' she realised after a moment. A sly grin then crossed her face. 'Perhaps I'll show him how thankful I am tonight…physically…'

Giggling to herself, Tharja wondered in the direction that Raye had pointed out to her, thoughts already full of what her intentions were in regards to a certain unfortunate manakete.

()()()()()()

As Raye finally found where a Shepherd had kindly set up his tent, he stumbled forwards as a small figure crashed into his back. An already familiar scent told him who it was a second later.

'Nowi…please…my back…' he grunted as he felt his daughter's arms tighten around him. 'I'm too old for this..!'

'Papa, I was so scared!' Nowi wailed as she nuzzled her face into her father's back. 'Don't ever lose your temper like that again!'

'You…you felt that then?' Raye asked, now feeling even more guilty for letting loose his rage.

'We all did, big brother,' he heard Tiki's reprimanding voice say from behind him. 'It even scared me, especially when you started shouting…those things…'

'…I'm sorry…' Raye mumbled, reaching around so that he could pat Nowi awkwardly on her head. 'I promise not lose it like that again.'

'You had better uphold that promise, big brother,' his sister replied. 'You are a father now, after all; what kind of example would that set her if she has to experience that sort of thing again?'

Raye glanced narrowly at his sister, who was grinning. 'You're sure taking to this whole aunt thing, aren't you?'

'Well of course! Nowi is my niece, something I never imagined I'd ever have, and since she doesn't have an another female manaketes to look up to I feel that it is my duty to be as such.'

'There's always Sahria…actually, scratch that…' Raye shuddered as a horrible thought entered his mind. 'Nowi, I want you to stay away from Sahria; if the two of you join forces my poor back will never recover!'

'You know you can't use the old man card all the time, right?' Tiki giggled. 'You're not that much older than me and all of my bones feel fine!'

'Bah, whatever happened to the respect young dragons used to have for us oldies?' Raye muttered, though the corners of his mouth twitched briefly. He then looked down when he felt Nowi tug on his sleeve. 'What?'

'I respect you, papa!' the smaller manakete assured him firmly. 'At least, as much as a daughter can, anyway!'

'Which means not at all…' Nowi's father sighed, which made Nowi and Tiki laugh. 'Right, now I'm REALLY tired!'

As he entered his tent, he was aware that Nowi had followed him, though thankfully Tiki had decided to head off towards her own tent, which she was actually sharing with Emmeryn due to her status as Naga's Voice.

'Nowi…don't you have your own tent?' Raye asked even as he took off his armour and let it fall to the ground.

His daughter shifted her feet before looking endearingly at her father. 'Um, yes, but I was hoping that I could…sleep here tonight?' she asked shyly.

Raye, who by now was almost asleep, briefly considered her words as he collapsed onto his cot.

'…Oh, fine then…' he muttered and made room so that Nowi could happily lie on the cot beside him. 'Just don't expect me to wake before tomorrow, okay?'

'Okay, papa,' Nowi said softly, before yawning and snuggling into Raye's arms.

The two manaketes, father and daughter alike, soon fell asleep, with not even the sounds of various Ylisseans moving past the tent managing to invade their dreams.

()()()()()()()

 _Well, that's a rather nice moment to end the chapter on, don't'cha think?_

 _So, we have now seen what happens when someone foolishly decides to raise the ire of our resident dragon dad, but (I shall make clear now) NOT the full extent of his strength. Not Sahria's either, now that I think about it; both dragons are holding themselves back._

 _I think that I shall also make it known that, despite how strong Raye appears to be, Sahria is actually going to ultimately be far stronger than him. This is due to her dual bloodline, and also having received the combined power of both dragons that she is descended from. Basically, Sahria is THE strongest character in the current roster; she just doesn't know it yet. And yes, that includes both Naga and Grima._

 _Speaking of Sahria, I get the feeling you have an inkling as to who I plan to pair her with. I thought about who she should end up with, and found myself amused by the thought of the reserved Lucina being flirted by, and eventually being with, someone as eccentric as Sahria. Of course, there's always Owain, who is probably just as odd as Sahria if not more, but as someone pointed out to me a while back he should technically remain single due to (spoilers) him being in Fates._

 _Finally, how do you think I handled Tharja's meeting with Raye and her overall character? Do you think she should be more intense, or less? Could the meeting between her and her 'one and only' have been handled differently? Either way, she's going to be an interesting character for me to write._

 _Thank you all for your support and…_

 _Ciao for now!_


	21. Interlude Chapter 4

-Interlude Chapter Four- Moments of Relaxation-

 **-A (Somewhat) Serious Talk-**

The night following the failed Plegian ambush on the Ylisseans at the ruined capitol, Chrom and Robin found themselves sitting on the very cot they had made love to each other only the night before. This time around however, the atmosphere was one of nervousness and hesitation. While neither regretted what had happened, they also didn't know where they stood in regards to their current relationship.

'So…I'm glad Raye didn't end up consuming us in a vengeful inferno…!' Chrom finally joked weakly in an attempt to break the awkwardness.

'Y…yeah…' Robin stammered in reply, not meeting the prince's eye as he looked at her. 'Though I doubt we were in any real danger…'

The two Shepherds descended back into silence, which then stretched to almost ten minutes. All the while, they looked everywhere but at each other, both with matching red cheeks.

'Oh for…this is just stupid!' Robin finally exclaimed in annoyance. Taking a deep breath, she turned so that she was able to stare directly at Chrom, the prince instinctively mirroring her. 'We're both adults, we should be able to discuss what happened with sincerity and logic!'

'R…right…you're absolutely right!' Chrom stammered, before also taking a deep breath. 'First of all then…do you regret what happened?'

'Of course not!' Robin replied instantly. 'Last night was…probably the best night I've ever had, certainly as far as I can remember, and I wouldn't ever want to take it back!'

'I feel the same,' Chrom nodded, breathing a sigh of relief at the tactician's words. 'Well then…I suppose we should figure out…how we feel about each other…'

At this, Robin's cheeks blazed even brighter and she looked down momentarily.

'Um…well…if we ARE going to be discussing this honestly…' she mumbled, fidgeting slightly where she sat. 'If we're going to be completely honest…I would never asked you to sleep with me if I didn't in some way have feelings for you…'

'And…and how STRONG are these feelings?' Chrom asked quickly, crossing his fingers in his lap as he already knew what his feelings towards the tactician were.

Robin was silent then for so long that Chrom began to lose hope. However, he felt instant relief when the tactician shyly looked up at him and said, 'They're…at the point that I can't bear to be away from you…' She snorted then. 'Then again, those first few times we had alone kind of made me see you as something of an idiot but…I might have enjoyed them either way.' Robin frowned. 'And of course, I was far from pleased when you barged in on Lucina and I NAKED…but again, I wasn't…totally…displeased about what happened.'

'Really? You sure tried to convince me otherwise!' Chrom joked, reaching out a hand and gently taking one of the tactician's own. He smirked. 'And if, as you say, we are going to be completely honest…I may have had to 'relieve' myself after seeing you like that…'

Robin blanched. 'Really hope that Lucina didn't pop into your head at any point during!'

'Of course not!' Chrom assured her, looking embarrassed again. 'I don't know why, but as soon as my eyes started to look in her direction something in my brain screamed at me to stop! Besides, I haven't really interacted with her, before or after that moment, so I've never had a chance to see if I could develop such feelings.' He smiled. 'Feelings that I have for you, for instance.'

The tactician looked away, attempting to hide the broad smile that was slowly spreading across her face, but unable to since Chrom quickly turned her head back so that he could smile at her again.

'Robin…I'm very glad that I found you that day,' he whispered, tenderly stroking her cheek. 'And for every day that I've been able to spend with you…even those 'odd' encounters we had…'

The tactician smiled in return, a smouldering look in her eyes as she leant forward to kiss the prince lightly on the lips.

'How about you try that again?' she commented coyly, pulling back and shooting him a mock reproachful look.

Chrom rolled his eyes, smiling, and said, 'Robin…I love you…I've loved you for a while and it wasn't even because you took my first…' Robin groaned in mock displeasure at this comment but returned the smile. 'What I mean is that…you are the most amazing woman I've ever met, and I will cherish every moment from here until the day I die that I get to spend with you.'

'Wow…laying it on a bit thick, aren't you?' Robin laughed, but leant forward to meet the kiss that Chrom directed at her. As they pulled back, she shivered as she felt a tingle shoot from her mouth all the way down to her womanhood. 'Speaking of 'laying'…'

It was Chrom's turn to groan at a bad joke. 'Did you really just say that?'

The tactician looked at him playfully. 'Are you really going to complain?' she purred as she pushed Chrom onto his back on the cot.

The sight of the tactician slowly removing her coat, letting it fall to the ground next to the cot, was enough to make the prince's mind go blank for a moment.

'Ah…no…I don't believe that there's any reason why I'd complain at this…moment…!' the prince coughed as Robin then, just as slowly, removed the thin piece of fabric that she used to bind her breasts.

The sight of the tactician's bare breasts made Chrom's body instantly react and she giggled as she looked over her shoulder to see his erect manhood poking up underneath his pants.

'Hmm…we should probably get rid of this, don't you think?' she asked playfully.

Not waiting for a reply, she quickly shifted position so that her rear was in front of Chrom's face before she almost casually undid the belt that held his pants up and lowered them down. She then reached back and pulled her own pants down so that Chrom could see every part of her lower half.

'Oops…it appears that my pants have fallen down…' she said with a mock sigh. 'I sure hope that there aren't any beasts around that might feel the need to…investigate…' Before Chrom could put his thoughts together enough for a witty reply, he gasped as he felt Robin's tongue start licking the tip of his penis. 'And what's this? I'd better make sure that whatever it might be is suitably investigated itself.'

As Robin continued to lick his penis, now working her way down his shaft, Chrom reached up and began to massage the tactician's smooth, shapely rear. He lightly smacked it after a moment, being rewarded by the sight of Robin jumping slightly at the impact. Raising an eyebrow, he smacked Robin's rear again; and again, Robin jumped, this time letting out a little moan as she sat bolt upright.

'Robin…' he asked then, slowly grinning. 'Are you by any chance…aroused by someone smacking your butt?'

'N…no….' Robin stammered in denial, even as she stroked his cock with one hand. 'Wh…who would ever be aroused by something so weird?'

'Hmm, I wonder?' Chrom mused, pretending to be curious about the matter.

'Watch it mister…' Robin tried to growl threateningly; unfortunately, her words lacked impact as she once again bent over and began sucking tenderly on the tip of Chrom's rock hard manhood, working the shaft with both hands as she did so.

At the tactician's attentions, Chrom's arms fell limply to the cot as he closed his eyes and simply enjoyed the extremely pleasurable feeling that was rushing through his body. After a few minutes of this, he opened his eyes, lust filling them, reached up and smacked the tactician's rear with slightly more force than he had before.

Robin's eyes, which had started to close as she continued sucking, shot wide open as an intense wave of pleasure reverberated from where she had just been smacked. It took only a moment for it to completely overtake her and she fell forward, Chrom's quivering penis sticking up right beside her face as she panted.

'C…Chrom…if you want me to fuck you, you have to w…wait…' she breathed. She then let out another, louder cry as Chrom began to lightly smack both cheeks of her rear. 'C…CHROM…s…seriously…!'

It was at that point that Chrom, overtaken by lust at the sight of how he had made Robin react, grabbed both of her cheeks and squeezed. This caused the tactician to let out a wail and, unintentionally, bucked backwards with enough force that Chrom's mouth impacted with her vagina. This sudden pressure only made the tactician even more aroused, something that Chrom could immediately see, judging from the slight wetness that he could feel now coming from her lower lady part.

Without pausing, Chrom gripped both sides of her waist and unceremoniously poked his tongue out and into Robin's waiting pussy. He slowly moved it around, exploring every inch of the soft flesh inside and marvelling at how sweet it somehow tasted. His tongue soon began to move faster, more insistently, and Chrom smirked into the Robin's vagina as he felt her began to constrict around it.

Robin, whose face was red with both lust and embarrassment, shakily lowered herself so that she could engulf Chrom's dick with her mouth.

' _Two can play at this game!'_ she thought drunkenly to herself before moving her mouth up and down around the hard shaft of Chrom's manhood, using her own tongue to lick his tip as she did so.

The tactician gagged a little as she began to relax her jaw more and then began to deepthroat the prince enthusiastically. Even though her mind was rather fuzzy at this point, she had enough control of it to note detachedly that Chrom's penis was at least nine inches long. This thought soon escaped her as she felt Chrom thrust upwards and bury his cock all the way down her throat. She panicked for a moment, afraid that she would be unable to breathe, before she realised that she could simply breathe through her nose while still keeping the long, thick length comfortably inside her throat. Robin even helpfully pushed her head down, her throat resisting for a moment before allowing the hard length complete entry. She felt his tip hit the back of her throat a moment later and she choked and gagged for a moment before relaxing.

After a few seconds of staying in place, Robin slowly withdrew her mouth, leaving thin strings of drool and precum in her mouth's wake. She sat up, breathing deeply and wiping the stings of spit from her mouth with the back of her hand. As Robin cleaned her lips, she grinded her hips against Chrom's face, eyes closing and her head falling back as she moaned and enjoyed the eager, questing attentions of the prince's tongue.

She then bent back down, determined to finish what she had started and once again covered Chrom's penis with her eager mouth. The tactician slurped and gulped, the prince's shaft slick with her spit. She then reached down and began fondling his testicles, alternating between light squeezes and tenderly massaging them. This drove Chrom crazy, and he began to move his tongue with even greater ferocity. By now, Robin was whimpering past his dick, her head pumping up and down relentlessly as she urged the prince on to an orgasm.

Both of them didn't have to wait long as, after nearly five minutes of trying to outdo each other, Chrom let out an animalistic growl and thrust upwards forcefully. Robin's eyes went wide and she let out a whimpering gag as the prince's dick was shoved further down her throat than she would have ever thought possible. She then choked as she felt Chrom, finally, unload directly into her throat, feeling the thick semen flood down it. The tactician desperately withdrew her head even as more cum shot down her throat and let out a choking gasp as she finally surfaced.

However, soon after it was Robin's turn to climax and she did so in explosive fashion. Even as she looked down blearily to see that Chrom had shot enough semen that she had quite a fair bit of it dripping down her breasts, she froze as a slow, titanic feeling of pleasure began to rise from where Chrom's tongue was still exploring her depths. This escalated and multiplied to the point that her pussy went numb at the shock and she let out a long, drawn out wail of ecstasy before clapping her hands desperately over her mouth to muffle it. She even had to resort to biting her own fingertips as the waves of pleasure caused her to buck and spasm above Chrom.

After what felt like an eternity, the pleasure died down enough that Robin was able to crawl off of Chrom and collapse, right way up now, beside him.

'N…Naga…' she panted her heart racing as her entire body quivered. 'I…I may need a minute…'

Unfortunately for her, Chrom, who had a wild look of lust in his eyes now, ignored Robin's words and quickly flipped her over onto her stomach. Before she could feebly react, her eyes went wide and she gripped the sheets tightly as Chrom mercilessly rammed his still hard cock straight into her now very sensitive vagina from behind. She reached shakily for the pillow in front of her and buried her face into it so that she could muffle the screams that were escaping her now. The feeling of her lover, now completely consumed by the need to pleasure the both of them, inside her was so overwhelming that she nearly fainted several times over the course of the next ten minutes.

Finally, Chrom let out a guttural groan and pushed forward one last time, holding his position for several seconds before shooting another thick load of cum into the woman who he had pledged everything to. Robin pushed back forcefully at the same time and the two of them went completely silent thanks to the now very familiar feel of their bodies reaching their climaxes overriding their ability to make any sound.

'N…Naga…Naga…' Robin panted, a blissful, numb expression on her face. 'I…I don't know how…but this was even….better than last…night…'

She then drunkenly looked over her shoulder as she heard a thud come from behind her and was greeted to the sight of Chrom's legs sticking straight up in the air; the prince had apparently fainted, falling onto his back to the ground after he had ejaculated into her.

Robin shakily smiled before slumping onto her stomach. 'S…serve's him right…for fucking me…so hard…' she mumbled to herself. 'Should…have paced…himself…'

With that, the tactician closed her eyes and went into a peaceful, blissful sleep while her lover snored from his awkward position on the sand.

()()()()()()

Outside their tent, a frozen Lucina was crouching, very mortified, with her hands over her head; she had been asked by Emmeryn to fetch Chrom and Robin, Frederick currently being tended for a concussion he had suffered when a giant Plegian warrior had smacked him over the head with a shield. The bluenette had unfortunately arrived right before Chrom had begun driving into Robin from behind and had been unable to move due to the sheer shock and mortification that had gripped her.

Never had the future child of Robin and Chrom ever regretted being given the chance to speak with her parents before, nor would she ever be able to burn the sounds of her parents having such passionate sex from her mind or memory.

 **-A mother and daughter chat (though mother doesn't know that)-**

'Um…Yana…did you need some help?' Sahria asked nervously as she poked her head into the healer's tent; having found Raye asleep with Nowi in his arms, she had decided to finally do something she had been avoiding, namely getting to know her mother.

Yana looked around. 'Oh, Sahria, hello,' she greeted, smiling warmly at the teenager. 'No, I should be alright, but thank you for offering.'

Sahria fidgeted in the entrance of the tent, a sad look on her face which Yana immediately noticed.

'Then again, I suppose I could use an extra hand,' she corrected herself, gesturing for the young manakete to join her.

Sahria grinned and bounced into the tent, standing beside the cot where Yana was tending to a wounded Kellam.

'Oh hey, it's the invisible guy!' the manakete commented, noticing the knight now that she was closer.

Her mother smiled. 'It is indeed. Kellam was unfortunately injured when he protected Lissa from a Plegian wyvern rider.'

'I'm sorry…' Kellam mumbled, but Yana shook her head and smiled at him fondly.

'You have no need to apologise, Sir Kellam,' she assured him gently. 'If not for you, I may very well have lost a sister today, so for that I thank you.' She then nodded at a bucket with a cloth dangling on its side. 'Sahria sweetie, could you please hand me that cloth? I need to keep Kellam's temperature down.'

'Yes ma'am!' Sahria replied and quickly handed the cleric what she had asked for.

The manakete watched, a longing look in her eyes, as her mother dabbed Kellam's forehead lightly with the soaked cloth. She quickly shook herself into a neutral expression when she saw Yana turn her head to speak to her again.

'Thank you, Sahria,' Yana smiled and stood up. 'Now, if you want to continue helping me, Ricken needs a fresh covering.'

'Sure, whatever you need!' the young manakete replied eagerly and followed her mother as she made her way towards where the young mage was lying, with a slightly dejected look on his face, on another cot.

'Ricken, how are you feeling?' Yana asked gently as she sat on the edge of the cot.

The young mage looked up at her and sighed. 'Oh, perfectly fine I suppose…' he muttered, holding out his arm where a bloodied bandage was wrapped around it. He had been one of the few Shepherds who had been forced to retreat in the first wave of attacks, having fallen victim to a completely random arrow to the arm the he used to cast spells with.

'Your arm will heal good as new, Ricken,' Yana replied soothingly, unwinding the bandage gently. 'Sahria, could you please get me a new bandage? There should be one in my pack.' She pointed at the bag that she had set down next to her.

As Sahria rifled through the cleric's bag to find the requested item, she listened discreetly as Yana chatted away with Ricken.

'Huh, it's not my arm that hurts…' the young mage was saying, sounding disgruntled.

'No? Then what, pray tell, has you in such a down mood?'

Ricken looked upset as he said, 'It's the fact that I was the FIRST Shepherd to be told to retreat! How am I supposed to prove to Chrom that I'm a man if I always end up like this!' He waved his arm agitatedly, but winced when he felt a sharp pain lance through it.

Yana smiled kindly at him. 'Please keep still,' she said reproachfully. 'And as for your question, you should not try to become a man so quickly.' She looked sternly down at her patient. 'You have more than proved yourself in your own way, and to push further before you're prepared will only get not only yourself, but maybe those around you hurt; how do you think that will make both you and Chrom feel if that should occur?'

Ricken looked downcast as he absorbed the cleric's words.

'I…suppose you have a point…' he admitted grudgingly. He then sighed deeply. 'I've been acting like a child about this whole thing, haven't I?'

'No, I wouldn't say that…exactly…' Yana joked, eliciting a small chuckle from her patient.

The cleric then quickly wound the bandage that Sahria then handed her around Ricken's wounded arm, securing it with a small pin. She then got back to her feet and picked up her bag.

'Now, get some rest and DON'T let me see you pick at your bandages again,' she instructed Ricken sternly before smiling and moving off.

Sahria followed her, her feelings of longing now more heightened than ever after having seen the easy way her mother had interacted with Ricken.

'You're…pretty good at the whole 'people person' thing…' she finally said as Yana sat down on Sumia's cot; the pegasus knight had been knocked out when she had fallen from her pegasus after a wind spell had wounded out. Thankfully, both mount and rider where saved from permanent injury by the fact that Virion and Vaike had managed to kill the Plegians that had attempted to finish her off.

'I have to be, being a cleric,' Yana replied as she put her hand to Sumia's forehead. To the pegasus knight, she asked, 'And how are you feeling, Sumia?'

'B…better…' the pegasus knight mumbled. 'You and Lissa have definitely helped and my headache's pretty much disappeared now.'

'Good to hear, I was worried when I saw you and your pegasus fall,' the cleric admitted.

As Sumia blushed, a distraction arrived in the form of Lucina stumbling into the tent, making her way to the nearest empty cot and collapsing onto her stomach onto it. Yana frowned and half-raised herself from where she had been sitting, but Sahria quickly interrupted her.

'I'll do with this,' she assured her mother.

'Alright…just tell me what's wrong with her if you find out.'

Nodding, Sahria then quickly made her way over to where Lucina had now rolled over onto her back, staring listlessly up at the ceiling of the tent.

'Yo, Lucina!' she announced herself. 'You alright?'

Lucina glanced at her and Sahria was surprised to see that the bluenette's face was completely red with embarrassment. She could also smell it too, now that she closer.

'Er…what happened to you?' she asked, sitting down next to the future princess.

It took a while of coaxing, but Sahria was finally able to get the reason for Lucina's current condition from her.

'I…er….I may have…been party to an….unfortunate moment between our commander and tactician…' Lucina choked out before covering her face and bursting into tears.

It took a moment before Sahria realised what Lucina had meant. When she did, her own face quickly changed to match her friend's.

'O…Oh…!' was all she could muster before patting Lucina sympathetically on the shoulder.

She stayed there for the next few hours, comforting Lucina but still slightly sad at the fact that she had now been interrupted from getting to know her mother.

 **-The Exalt and the Voice-**

'Are you sure that you are comfortable with this arrangement?' Emmeryn asked for what felt to Tiki like the twentieth time in as many minutes.

'Yes, your highness, I am perfectly fine with sharing a tent with you,' she sighed from where she was sitting delicately on the edge of the cot that she had been provided.

'Are you sure?' the Exalt persisted anxiously. 'I mean, I would make no complaint if you wanted to share a tent with your brother or niece!' She had already been told that Nowi was Tiki's niece by Chrom.

'Considering that I'm still slightly embarrassed by how I conducted myself when I reunited with big brother, I'm fairly certain that he would resent it if I pushed to share his tent,' Tiki sighed, a little sad now. 'Best if I let him be for now.'

'Oh, I'm sure Lord Raye forgives you!' Emmeryn assured the Voice.

'Remember, it's just 'Raye', your highness,' Tiki joked gently and Emmeryn blushed.

'R…right…' the woman replied. She then frowned as she realised something. 'I'm still wondering what has happened to everyone; I am quite miffed that they've all missed the meeting that I had planned.'

The tips of Tiki's ears went slightly red; with her enhanced hearing, and despite the care that Robin and Chrom had taken, the Voice had still managed to hear them in the throes of lust.

'I'm sure that they were just too tired to attend, not that they were deliberately shirking their duties,' she said quickly. She then quickly blew out the candle that had been illuminating the tent. 'Something that I can certainly understand! So if it's all the same to you, good night…'

'Yes…good night, La…Tiki…' Emmeryn replied, settling herself down comfortably.

()()()()()()()()

 _A quick little chapter this time, comprising mostly of the awaited 'chat' and final realization between those two crazy kids on their feelings for each other._

 _The section between Sahria and Yana was something that I had been trying to find a place, only succeeding now since Raye was unconscious for the first time this entire story. Really, he should have a chat with his apprentice and encourage her to speak more to her mother (which he will)._

 _Finally, the short section between two characters who would have a suitably awkward interaction, due to Emmeryn holding Tiki up as the holy being she is, was included purely to round out the chapter and give Emmeryn a little moment at the spotlight (she will get more, rest assured)._

 _Anyway, as with the last chapter that had an intimate moment, I am anxious to know how you felt that went down (pardon the pun) and if it was a little bit of an improvement on the last one, or not at all._

 _Ciao for now!_


	22. Chapter 18

-Chapter Eighteen- Death to the King-

The next few days following Gangrel's failed ambush on Emmeryn and the Ylisseans were filled with sending ravens to Feroxi requesting reinforcements and organizing the retreat back to the Ylissean border. However, their progress was greatly impeded by the fact that Gangrel had apparently cast away all façades of peace and was now actively trying to kill every Ylissean that was in his lands. The mad king also did not spare any expense either, hundreds of Plegians falling on the retreating Ylisseans over the course of just the first two days.

By the third, almost all of the thirty royal guard that had accompanied Emmeryn had perished, with only six remaining by the end of a particularly brutal skirmish that the Ylisseans only managed to live through thanks to the presence of the four manaketes.

'This is getting ridiculous!' Chrom complained as he slumped to the sands next to Robin, who was also taking a moment to catch her breath. 'Surely Gangrel will give up soon?'

'You know him better than I do, Chrom,' Robin pointed out tiredly, massaging the prince's hand with her own.

Chrom groaned and fell onto his back. 'Yeah, that's the problem!'

Robin momentarily rested her head on the prince's chest but they quickly broke apart when they heard someone approach; they had decided to keep their relationship a secret for now, not wanting to burden the rest of the Shepherds with the knowledge.

'Milord, Robin…we should get moving,' suggested Frederick as he came into view. The knight frowned slightly when he saw the flushed looks on their faces, but attributed it to the previous combat they had been part of.

'Er, right, good idea Frederick,' Chrom stuttered, quickly getting to his feet and helping Robin up when she held out a hand.

With that, the three of them rejoined Emmeryn, who was conferring with one of the survivors of her guard.

'You should retreat while we stay and hold them off, your grace!' the man said in an insistent tone.

'There are only six of you left, Hadrian!' the Exalt argued in an equally insistent voice. 'No, I would rather not have any more deaths on my hand!'

'But your grace…!'

Chrom chuckled as he went to stand next to his sister. 'You would have an easier time convincing a sister of the church that Naga was standing naked behind her, my friend.'

'Hey, no lewd jokes about our mother!' Raye commented from where he was standing to the side.

The prince winced before continuing. 'Anyway…Emmeryn, you won't have to worry about any deaths on your hands…' Here, he took a deep breath; an idea had formed in his head when he had heard Hadrian's offer to stay behind and serve as a distraction. '…because it will be the Shepherds that will stay behind to cover your retreat!'

At this, Frederick and Robin looked at him in surprise and Emmeryn shook her head in horror.

'No…Chrom, that's as foolish as Hadrian's plan, more so in fact!' she protested before looking apologetically at her guard. 'Not to sound disparaging towards you Sir Hadrian, but Chrom…you are the prince of Ylisse, as well as our most able commander! If we were to lose you…'

'Emm, I think that your loss would be more of a blow to Ylisstol than mine could ever be!' Chrom replied firmly. 'You are both our ruler and a symbol of hope and peace! Losing you would deal such a crippling blow to Ylisse that Gangrel or anyone else would simply be able just walk over our country!'

'Even so…' Emmeryn mumbled, but Chrom could see that she was starting to waver and pressed home his advantage.

'And anyway, I won't be alone; I'll have the best fighters in Ylisse to help me!' Chrom then looked around at his Shepherds, who had begun to gather around when they heard his plan. 'That is, if you wish to; I won't stop you from heading back with Emmeryn if that is what you wish, nor would I think any less of you for it!'

There was silence for a moment as the Shepherds looked at one another. Then, one by one, they all raised their hands into the air and let out a roar of approval.

'Hah, the Vaike is all the help you need, Chrom!' Vaike boomed, flexing his biceps in emphasis.

'Correction, it would increase our commander's chances of survival if he had at least one more person as reinforcement,' Miriel corrected him dryly. 'Basic mathematics.'

'Yeah, and I'll help out as much as I can!' Sumia piped up, clutching her spear in determination.

'And you do not even have to question what my decision is, milord,' Frederick declared, inkling his head towards his prince.

'Hmph…though I would much rather away from this horrid sand as soon as I can, I feel myself compelled to also volunteer my continued presence, my lord,' Maribelle sighed. 'If only so that I can keep a close eye on my Lissa; I have the feeling that I know what her decision is.'

'You bet your ass I'm staying!' Lissa agreed, causing a scandalized expression to appear on Maribelle's face at the crude language her crude friend utilized.

'…Then I suppose that I may as well stay as well…' Lon'qu grunted. 'It is my duty to protect your sister, after all.

'And I shall also volunteer to be part of this valiant force!' Virion said grandly. 'Ah, I can see it now; the songs that will be written about our daring endeavours! Truly, an act worthy of the most archest of archers!'

As the rest of the Shepherds pledged themselves to follow Chrom into Hell and back, the prince looked around at them, a proud look on his face. He then felt a hand lightly touch his arm and looked to see Robin with a smile on her face.

'You can count on me as well, Chrom,' she said softly. 'You need someone to make sure you don't do anything too foolish, after all!'

'And there is no one else that I would trust that duty to,' Chrom replied, lightly squeezing her hand for a split second. He then glanced around when Raye cleared his throat. 'Raye…'

The manakete held up a hand. 'Before you say anything, prince, let me just say that you are a most interesting man,' he remarked, smiling slightly. 'Certainly one of the most noble I have met in far too long of a life. As such, and since everyone else here has already done so, I feel that it would be remiss of me to not also tag along.'

'I was actually hoping that you could escort my sister back to Ylisse…' Chrom replied hesitantly.

Raye scoffed. 'My sister and apprentice will be more than enough for that, even with the reduced numbers of her guard.' The manakete looked at Sahria, waiting expectantly for her to give her own thoughts on the matter, and when no words were forthcoming he raised an eyebrow. 'What, nothing to say? No complaints about me sending you away from the action again?'

Sahria sighed. 'I've long made my peace with the way you choose to mentor me, master,' she said. 'In any case, I doubt that our trip back to Ylisse will be any less eventful than your little adventure here.'

'Hmmm…quite mature of you, young apprentice of mine,' Raye commented, a slightly proud look in his eyes. 'Then perhaps I can trust you to also look after Nowi for me as well?'

At this, Nowi looked quickly at her father and gripped his arm tightly.

'No, papa, I don't want to be separated from you again!' she cried desperately.

A gently look entered Raye's eyes then as he patted Nowi's head.

'Nowi…listen for a moment…' he made sure that he held Nowi's attention before continuing. 'Where we're going, what we're going to do…there will be some things that I never want you to witness, some deeds that I want you to never be a part of.' Raye put his hands on his daughter's shoulders. 'I have already been a terrible father to you; do not make me even more so by exposing you to the cruelties of war.'

'But I've already seen the bad stuff!' Nowi insisted, clinging to her father's arm in more tightly. 'I can handle it!'

'Not on this scale!' Raye said, more firmly now. 'I will protect you from the horrors of war for as long as I can; it's the least that I owe to both you and your mother.'

Nowi sniffled sadly but nodded her head at her father's insistent gaze.

'O…okay, papa…' She then gripped his face tenderly in both her hands and rubbed her nose against his. 'Just promise me that you will come back safely…and that you won't lose your temper again…'

Raye felt a strange sensation in his heart before he stood up straight and nodded.

'Sure thing,' he said in a light tone. 'Besides, I'll have my hands busy making sure that none of these humans do anything too idiotic!' At a displeasured grunt from Panne, the manakete amended his statement. 'Ahem…PANNE and I will have our hands busy, is what I meant to say.'

Nowi giggle reluctantly and moved to stand beside Tiki, who was smiling affectionately at her brother.

'I'll look after them both, 'she said then, referring to both Nowi and Sahria. 'Though I will admit that I wish that I was staying with you as well, big brother.'

'Bah, you're the Voice of Naga!' her brother pointed out. 'Can't have you being linked to such a messy affair like this!'

He then took his place beside Yana and went silent. Chrom glanced at him momentarily before turning back to face his sister.

'Well, this is as good a plan as we have right now, and don't you deny it!' he joked.

Emmeryn sighed. 'While I am certain that it would be simply easier for us to all stick together, I suppose I shouldn't try to dissuade you from whatever action you take here in Plegia…' She let out another unhappy, but resigned sigh. 'And I suppose that peace with Gangrel is now a foregone conclusion…'

'Yes, it is,' Chrom replied grimly. 'And it became as so the moment that he tried to have you killed.' He then nodded at Hadrian and the other surviving royal guard. 'Keep her safe for me, Hadrian…as well as yourselves!'

'You have my word, Prince Chrom, no harm shall come to her grace on our watch!' the royal guard declared determinedly, saluting.

'Good, now get going; it would be better for all of us if Emmeryn gets as far away from here as soon as she can.'

With that, the Shepherds watched as Emmeryn, the six royal guard and the three dragons bade them farewell and began the long, dangerous journey back to Ylisse.

'May Naga protect them…' Chrom heard Libra pray under his breath.

Silently echoing the priest's words, Chrom turned his back on the retreating form of his sister and her guards and faced the Shepherds.

'Well…shall we?' he asked simply and the Shepherds all roared out their affirmations.

()()()()()()()

'They will be fine, your grace,' Tiki assured Emmeryn as they quickly lost sight of the Shepherds. 'Both your brother and mine will make sure of that.'

'I know…but I still cannot help but worry about that oaf,' the Exalt replied, a worried look on her face as she glanced briefly over her shoulder. 'Still…it does make me feel somewhat proud of his decision, even if it is foolhardy.'

'Sometime the best actions start out foolish,' Tiki said sagely. 'It is how we who watch from the outside support them that really counts.'

'I pray that you are right, Lady Tiki…'

()()()()()()()()

'We will make our stand back at the ruined capitol!' Chrom announced. 'I know that it is two days back the way we came, but it is the most defensible spot that is close by!'

'I don't think that we'll have the chance to get there,' Yana replied nervously and pointed.

Chrom looked in the direction she was indicating and cursed; there, just on the horizon, was the faint shapes of a vast army moving towards them.

'Blast, they must have gathered all of the forces they've been using to harass us till now into one massive force!' he assumed. 'Which probably means that they think that Emmeryn is still with us!'

'Guess it was a good decision for us to remain then,' Robin commented as she squinted at the force approaching them in the distance. 'Can't really make a correct estimation from her but…I'd say that there's at least three thousand Plegian's coming our way…'

'And how many do we have again?' Lissa asked, now sounding slightly regretful that she had decided to stay.

'Counting you…about twenty,' Chrom replied after doing a quick headcount.

'Erm…I think you mean TWENTY-ONE, Chrom,' Yana corrected him and pointed to where Kellam was standing just behind Ricken.

'Crap…sorry, Kellam, forgot you were here!' the prince muttered as he squinted to where the knight was standing. 'Although with Cordelia in her current condition we may as well be at seventeen.'

'I can still fight!' the red headed pegasus knight said, slightly hurt at the prince's words. 'And I WANT to fight; I have a score to settle with the Plegian's for what they did to Sammy and Enid!'

'Er…I hate to point it out but Raye kind of took care of that for you…' Chrom replied cautiously.

Cordelia drew herself to her full height. 'And I shall forever be grateful to him for it, but I still need to avenge them with my own action!'

Chrom looked at the determined look on the pegasus knight's face before sighing and nodding. He then looked at Raye as the manakete cleared his throat.

'Actually, better set our numbers at an even twenty-two,' Raye commented; he had just noticed Tharja lurking behind a barrel. 'Hey, Tharja, why don't you join us, huh?'

Hearing the manakete calling to her, the dark mage quickly revealed herself, an odd smile on her face that quickly made way for a scowl when several Shepherds jumped and cursed when they noticed her. Kellam was privately happy that someone else was the cause of such a reaction for a change.

'I…er…assume that she introduced herself to you?' the manakete asked the prince.

'Yeah…in a way…' Chrom muttered, shivering slightly at the memory of how the dark mage had slinked into the command tent and introduced herself; the experience had made all those present rather disconcerted. 'I just hope that she aims her spells in THEIR direction, not ours.'

Raye snorted. 'Even if she might not look it, I'm sure that we can trust her.' He tapped the side of his head then. 'Don't forget, I can sense a person's intentions pretty accurately. Besides, I just have this gut feeling that she is at least sincere about her hatred for her fellow Plegians.'

'I will trust that you know what you are doing then,' Chrom sighed before letting the matter drop. He did not fail to notice the surprised but disturbingly devoted look that the dark mage shot towards the manakete after he had spoken, though Raye himself did not notice, but decided that he had enough to deal with at the moment and pushed the thought to the side.

'Right, we better get into position!' Chrom shouted and directed the Shepherds to form two lines, with Yana, Lissa, Maribelle, Virion and the two mages further behind the front line fighters.

When the Shepherds had taken position, the prince glanced to both sides; he saw that Lucina had taken position to his left, while Robin was standing ready on his right. Nodding to them both, he faced the front again and took in a deep breath to calm his nerves.

'Shepherds…whatever happens, know that I will forever be proud to call myself your leader!' he shouted. 'And as long as I draw breath, I will protect you all!' The Shepherds let out cheers of determination at the prince's words and tightened their grips on their weapons.

It was at that point that Raye stepped forwards and cleared his throat.

'Perhaps I can tip the scales slightly further in our favour?' he commented, arching an eyebrow.

Chrom hesitated for a moment before nodding shortly. 'Very well, just be careful.'

'Don't worry about missing out on any action, Chrom,' the manakete laughed humourlessly. 'Judging by their numbers I predict that there will be more than enough Plegian's coming your way.'

With that, the manakete sprinted towards the mass of foes before transforming and taking to the skies. Roaring, Raye sped towards the Plegian lines and landed directly in front of their front lines. Before the Plegian's could react, the air above the dragon bathed them in a torrent of golden fire. As nearly twenty of the unfortunate desert dwellers were burned to ashes, Raye one again took flight before slamming his bulk down onto another part of the Plegian formation, crushing a dozen more.

()()()()()()()

As Raye wreaked havoc in their lines, the Plegians nearly buckled but were soon brought to heel as Gangrel, riding on a pitch black horse, ordered them back.

'DON'T YOU DARE FLEE, YOU WORMS!' he yelled furiously. He then signalled to one of his officers who let loose several short blasts on a trumpet.

Answering the signal, dozens of wyvern riders flew from behind the Plegian lines and immediately assaulted Raye, not caring if they mistakenly killed any of their countrymen as they harassed the gigantic opponent they now faced.

With the arrival of the wyvern knights, the dragon was forced to retreat; unfortunately for him Gangrel, who had anticipated his presence, had ordered a large number of the wyvern riders to be equipped with wymslayers, dragon killing swords that, while in no way as potent as Chrom and Lucina's Falchions, would still pose a serious threat in such great numbers. It was these troops that caused the most annoyance to the dragon since there were so many of them and they were nimbler than their larger opponent.

As the wyvern riders assaulted Raye and drove him away from their comrades, Gangrel cackled at the sight and pointed.

'See that pathetic excuse for a dragon?' he shouted to his troops in triumph. 'He is brother to that useless Voice of Naga, meaning that he is also the son of Naga herself! Imagine the glory that will be ours when every nation finds out that one of our own slew that bitch's own spawn! Does that not embolden you?!'

The Plegians all roared in approval at the Mad King's words and, greatly emboldened by the sight of their wyvern riders driving off such a powerful foe, marched with much more vigour and purpose than before. Gangrel smirked and rode to the front of his army, intending to lead the charge himself.

' _Finally…my people will have their vengeance for what you did to them, Uther!'_ he snarled to himself in his head.

()()()()()()()()

'That doesn't look good…' Chrom muttered when he saw Raye being driven off by a dark cloud of wyvern riders. 'Hope he'll be alright.'

'He will; he has a pretty good reason to want to survive,' Robin replied. When Chrom glanced at her curiously, she elaborated. 'His family, Chrom. Hell, we ALL have family that we fight for, which makes us the most dangerous opponents the Plegians have to face!'

'Good point…' Chrom grinned. He then winked slyly at his tactician and lover. 'Speaking of family…'

'Shut up, my lord,' Robin replied easily. 'They're getting pretty damn close.'

From where she was standing, Lucina couldn't help but see the look that her future mother gave her father then, and she hid a smile. While she could have done without being involved in two separate, awkward moments with her parents, she was still glad to see that their relationship was developing in front of her.

' _At least that's one thing that's remained constant,'_ she thought to herself. The future daughter of Chrom and Robin then frowned as she watched the faraway outline of Raye fighting the wyvern riders. _'As for that man and his apprentice…and my apparently new aunt…THEY are something I must investigate further…'_ She then blushed slightly when her thoughts trailed briefly to Sahria and how she had comforted her after she had burst into tears in the healer's tent. _'HER especially.'_

Lucina's thoughts then turned to Emmeryn, who to her knowledge had supposed to have died by now. Not that she wanted that, but it meant that her plans were now thrown completely out the window; she was now worried that events were spiralling so far from what she had been expecting that she wouldn't be able to guess what came next, which might lead to an even more tragic future than the one she had originally come from.

Shaking these thoughts out of her head then, Lucina gripped her Falchion tightly as the Plegian army stopped their march briefly. She growled under her breath when she saw Gangrel ride forward some distance away from his army and halt.

'Prince Chrom, I'm glad to see that you're giving yourself up!' the Mad King called arrogantly. He then gestured over his shoulder as a particularly loud roar of pain came from behind him. 'As you can no doubt hear and see, your pet monster will not be long for this world; I look forward to wearing an attire made from his scales! They are the perfect colour after all, being BLOOD red!' The Plegian monarch cackled at his words.

Chrom bristled but called back in a clam voice, 'He will be fine, Gangrel! It will take more than your riders to kill him, even if they have dragon killing weapons!'

Gangrel waved his hand dismissively at the prince's declaration. 'Whatever, I really don't care anymore about that scum.' He then leered at the opposing leader. 'As for your slut of sister…I see two of them, but where is Emmeryn? Maybe if she gives herself up I will kill you all quickly so that she doesn't have to hear your screams!' He then yelled, 'DO YOU HEAR ME, EMMERYN?! IF YOU BEG, I MIGHT EVEN LET YOU LIVE TO BE MY SOURCE OF 'ENTERTAINMENT'!'

Chrom smirked at the mad king's words. 'Sorry to disappoint you, Gangrel, but my sister is long gone!'

The Plegian king's jaw dropped as he stared at Chrom. 'What do you mean?!'

'I mean that we are only here to serve as a distraction!' Chrom laughed, enjoying the sight of Gangrel being put out. 'And even if you get through us, there are three more dragons that you will have to face to get to her!'

'YOU LIE!' Gangrel screeched. 'SHE MUST BE HIDING IN THAT CAMP I SEE BEHIND YOU!' He then pointed a trembling finger at Chrom. 'YOU CANNOT FOOL ME, YOU YLISSEAN DOG! I WILL TEAR YOUR APART AND THEN MAKE EMMERYN WISH SHE HAD NEVER BEEN BORN TO THAT MURDERER YOU CALL A FATHER!'

'Then come at us, Mad King!' Chrom shouted in defiance. 'No matter how many troops you have, we will not break until all of you are dead at our feet!'

'I HAVE THOUSANDS OF SOLDIERS!' Gangrel roared, frothing now at the mouth in his rage. 'ALL OF THEM HAVE PLEDGED THEMSELVES TO MY WAR AND THEY WILL STOP AT NOTHING TO AVENGE ALL OF OUR MURDERED KIN!' He then turned to glare at his troops. 'AND ANY THAT DISOBEY ME WILL MEET THE SAME FATE AS THESE YLISSEANS AND SO WILL THEIR FAMILIES, SO IT IS IN THEIR BEST INTERESTS TO KILL YOU ALL!'

It was these words that now caused several of the Plegians to frown and look at one another. While they all held a grudge against what Exalt Uther had done to their country nearly twenty years ago, they had all come to realise that perhaps that grudge was not worth the effort of another, perhaps more brutal, war. Indeed, a vast majority of the army had been forcibly conscripted, by the Grimleal and Gangrel's personal guard, under threats to their families.

Now, hearing their insane monarch threating their families again with such a deranged look, and the willingness of the Ylisseans to die for what many Plegians had at one point thought to be a ruler far different from her father and far better, they began to wonder if the true threat to their survival was not in fact the Ylisseans but rather the man that had nurtured such hate for their neighbours.

Gangrel noticed the growing dissent in his lines and glared. 'WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE WAITING FOR, YOU INGRATES?' he yelled furiously and pointed his sword towards the Shepherds. 'GO AND CLAIM MY VENGEANCE!'

There was a moment of silence before one of the Plegian general, a huge, bald tanned man with thick brown facial hair, stepped forward and asked, 'YOUR vengeance, your highness? I was under the impression that this was for ALL of Plegia, not just yourself?'

The king stared at the general, shaking with fury, but forced himself to calm down and asked, with a sick smile on his face, 'Of course it's for us all, my friend! Pray, what is your name?'

'General Mustafa, your highness,' the general replied. 'And I repeat; is all of this so that you can satisfy your own need for vengeance, and not for the best wishes of your people?'

It was at the general's determined look that made Gangrel loose the brief moment of civility that he had had.

'OF COURSE IT'S FOR ME!' he screeched. 'AND SINCE I AM THE RULER OF YOU PATHETIC HEATHENS, THAT MEANS THAT IT IS ALSO FOR YOU! I AM THE BRAINS WHILE YOU ARE ALL SIMPLY THE MUSCLES THAT I DIRECT!'

A look of anger crossed Mustafa's face at the king's words.

'Then what is the point of all of this?' he demanded sternly. 'I have held my tongue until now, not made my opinions known, but now I shall speak frankly; you are insane, Gangrel! While many of us have made our peace with the war that is TWO decades old now, it is only YOU that seems to have held a grudge against a dead man!' Mustafa glanced over his shoulder as there was now a murmur of agreement rising from the ranks of the Plegians. 'Exalt Emmeryn has proven, time and again, that she is different from Uther, even willingly coming to Plegia itself to discuss peace talks! But instead of discussing it, you decided that it would be a perfect opportunity to assassinate her!'

Mustafa shook his head in disappointment. 'I joined the army during the war to PROTECT my country…but what you are suggesting is just as reprehensible as Uther's actions! To murder a woman who has stood for nothing but PEACE for the last twenty years…' Mustafa threw his weapons to the ground then. 'I will not be party to this!'

Seeing the general courageously face the madman they had all secretly regretted putting into power gave the Plegian's matching courage. First one man threw his weapons down as well, then another, then another until there was a constant clanking and thudding as one by one the vast majority of the Plegian army surrendered their arms. Even several of the generals followed Mustafa's example.

The only ones that remained loyal to Gangrel now were the dark cloaked Grimleal and the members of their cult. While there were still nearly two hundred of them, Gangrel's available troops were now far smaller than he had begun.

Gangrel himself was beside himself with rage. 'HOW DARE YOU!' he shrieked. 'I WAS THE ONE THAT PULLED OUR COUNTRY BACK TOGETHER! I WAS THE ONE THAT HAS PLANNED ALL OF THE RAIDS, ALL OF THE ATTEMPTS ON EMMERYN, ALL FOR YOU INGRATES! AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME?!'

In a fit of rage, he raised his sword and a bolt of lightning suddenly brought Mustafa to his knees, grunting in pain but refusing to faint as the electricity arched over his body. When the lightning had receded, the former Plegian general slowly reached for his previously discarded weapon and slowly got to his feet, glaring in defiance at his former king.

'King Gangrel…in light of your confession, I deem you unworthy of your title and your claim!' he shouted sternly. 'And as such, I will give you one chance to surrender yourself and thrown down your crown!' Behind him, the general heard all of the Plegians bend down to recover their own weapons and move to reinforce him. 'If you do not, then your life is forfeit!'

It was at that point that Raye flew back into view and landed next to Mustafa. He was covered in the blood from hundreds of wounds, but despite this he had managed to best the wyvern riders. As he had flown his way back towards what he had assumed would be a battlefield, he had heard Mustafa's words and immediately realised what was going on.

' _As much as I hate to agree with a Plegian, my true rage lies with you, Gangrel!'_ he growled now. Raye then looked down at Mustafa with one large, golden eye. _'As such, I shall stand with you, Sir Knight.'_

'I…am honoured, my lord…' Mustafa replied hesitantly. He then turned back to face the furious Gangrel. 'What is your answer?'

The Mad King shook his head in disbelief. 'Are you forgetting that that monster, only moments ago, slaughtered several of us before MY wyvern riders drove him off?' He then pointed at the dragon in question accusingly. 'Indeed, the fact that he is here now means that he has murdered even more!'

'That may be, but if even troops equipped with weapons to kill him couldn't do the deed, then what chance would we have anyway?' Mustafa scoffed. 'Now Gangrel…surrender or die!'

Gangrel roared and gestured to his Grimleal. 'I CHOOSE THE THIRD OPTION: THE SLAUGHTER OF EVERYONE THAT DOES NOT STAND WITH ME! GRIMLEAL, ANNIHILATE THEM ALL!'

With an answering roar, half of Gangrel's remaining troops charged towards Mustafa and Raye, while Gangrel led the other half straight towards the Shepherds.

()()()()()()()()

Chrom, who had been watching the confrontation between Gangrel and Mustafa in a slightly awed silence shook himself into alertness.

'Here they come, Shepherds!' he yelled and began to run forwards to meet Gangrel's charge. 'Now, WITH ME!'

War cries issuing from the throats of his companions, Chrom charged forward and, after a few moments , made contact with the oncoming Plegians.

The ensuing combat was chaotic, with the Grimleal fighting with a grim, furious determination. They fought to the last, but for all their rage the Shepherds proved to be the more skilled and determined force.

Vaike engaged a group of ten axemen; while he gained many cuts he slew them all, all the while laughing and boasting about his strength. Lissa was following him, sighing as she healed the worst of his wounds before the fighter rushed off again.

Lon'qu, silently following her, cut down any that dared to come within reach of his royal ward, keeping close to the blonde princess as she darted around the battlefield and momentarily forgetting his aversion to women.

Sumia, with Virion again riding with her, harassed the edges of the Grimleal forces. That archest of archers rained arrows down on the Grimleal, his almost magical aim not bothered in the slightest by the random movements of the pegasus and her rider.

Sully, Stahl and Frederick crashed through all that opposed them, the three of them proving to nimble and skilled for any of the Grimleal to react to. Frederick himself accounted for more than both Sully and Stahl combined, the great knight's fury matched by his skill with his lance.

Cordelia, while without her own pegasus and still suffering from her previous mistreatment, was backed up ably by the invisible Kellam and the enthusiastic Donnel. The former farmer's boy slew several Grimleal through sheer force of will and adrenaline alone. With both himself and Kellam, Cordelia was able to escape potential death after potential death, though neither one of them ever noticed or acknowledged the silent knight beside them.

Panne, finding herself fighting alongside the newly recruited Gregor, began to find herself working in perfect unity with the grizzled mercenary. The taguel and mercenary were like an unstoppable whirlwind of flashing blade and crushing claws, watching each other's backs and making sure that no Grimleal were able to touch the other.

Gaius, somehow, found himself in the saddle of Maribelle's horse, the troubadour having almost been unsaddled when a Grimleal berserker had rushed at her. The thief had managed to cut the man's throat before vaulting into the saddle, much to the resignation of the blonde noble who refused to acknowledge the fact that she had just been saved by a 'common thug'. However, Gaius proved his worth as he leapt off of the saddle and tacked another man who had been sneaking up on her, throwing the Grimleal to the ground and stabbing him in both eyes with his daggers. He looked up and winked at the noble and was rewarded by the slight blush that he momentarily saw on her cheeks before she quickly turned her head.

Miriel and Ricken, the two that were hanging back the most, combined their efforts to create something surprising; when one of Ricken's fire spells impacted with a wind spell from Miriel, the result was a tornado of flame causing havoc wherever it went.

'Fascinating…' Miriel commented, pushing her glasses up and looking curiously at the fused spells. 'This calls for more study!'

Meanwhile, Tharja, whose eyes were fixed on where Raye was slaughtering his way through the Grimleal beside Mustafa, was almost casually walking through the lines of her former countrymen, casting dark magic at any that got to close that consumed their victim's vitality and renewed her own. Those that were further out of her reach were impaled on dark tendrils that whipped around and killed even more.

Lucina found herself beside her future parents and aunt as they fought their way towards where Gangrel had dismounted and was standing, seemingly awaiting their arrival, with a furious look on his face. Yana's presence seemed to fill the future princess and her brother and the tactician with renewed vigour, and Lucina's eyes widened slightly when she saw several arrows that were fired in their direction bounce off a sudden golden sphere that briefly snapped into existence.

' _Who are you, Lady Yana?'_ the bluenette thought to herself even as she cut a Grimleal in half at the waist. _'Are you truly the twin of my father?'_ She had only recently discovered, to her shock, that not only was Yana a previously unknown relative to Chrom, but that she was also his twin. Lucina had so far not had the opportunity to question the cleric herself, but was resolved to do so at the earliest chance she got.

Lucina's chest then tightened when she saw her father finally reach Gangrel; the two opposing leaders immediately locked blades.

' _Please father…win…!'_

()()()()()()()()

'And so here we are, little prince!' Gangrel cackled even as he glared furiously at his opponent. 'Two men, who have the fates of both our countries in our hands, about to settle once and for all whose cause is the strongest!'

'Considering the fact that you have been abandoned by your people, I'd say that mine has the better ground to stand on!' Chrom retorted, straining against the surprising strength that Gangrel was pushing right back with.

'Bah, I will deal with those traitors after I am done with you!' Gangrel vowed and suddenly slipped past Chrom's guard and punched the prince in the chest

Chrom was only saved from death as he doubled over, winded, by the fact that Robin desperately charged forward and shouldered the king in the chest. The tactician let out a cry of agony as Gangrel's sword sliced her across the stomach and she fell to the ground.

'ROBIN!' Chrom cried out in horror, seeing his lover not moving as blood began to pool beneath her.

'I've got her, Chrom!' Yana shouted and quickly knelt next to the fallen tactician. She carefully rolled her over, wincing at the sight of the tactician's torn clothes and the wound that was beneath them.

'Will she…' Chrom asked desperately as he fell to his knees beside his sister, not noticing it when Lucina took up his previous duel with Gangrel.

Yana nodded. 'Yes, I can save her; she's lucky that the cut's not as deep as it looks.'

'Th…that's awesome to hear…' Robin struggled to remark painfully. She then blindly scrabbled around with her hand before she sighed in relief as it found Chrom's.

Yana raised an eyebrow when she saw that but didn't comment. Instead, she closed her eyes and held both of her palms just above Robin's wound. A moment later a soft white light was emitted from the wound and, right in front of Chrom's eyes, the wound quickly knitted itself back together. Once the wound had been completely closed, Yana sat back and opened her eyes, breathing heavily for a moment before she recovered.

'There, that should be enough,' she announced.

'Thank you, Yana,' Chrom sighed with relief and momentarily held Robin to him tightly. 'As for you, don't ever do that again! You gave me a heart-attack just then!'

'I'll try not to do that then,' Robin said, putting a hand tenderly to the prince's cheek for a brief moment before wriggling out of his grip and standing up. 'Now, let's go and help Lucina, yeah?'

Lucina was desperately dodging the flurry of attacks that Gangrel was raining down on her; like Chrom, she had underestimated the strength that the madman possessed and was paying the price for doing so. She let out a cry of pain as Gangrel's sword managed to slice through her sleeve and leave behind a small wound that immediately began to drip with blood.

'Now you whore…DIE!' the king cackled and charged forward to finish off the future princess as she stumbled backward.

However, it was Lucina's turn to be saved as her father darted forward and quickly shouldered her out of the way and blocked the downward slash that Gangrel had been aiming. As Yana moved forward to tend to Lucina's wound, Chrom drove Gangrel back with a storm of lightning fast blows that the king only barely managed to avoid.

Even so, the mad king gained several small cuts as Chrom began to slowly gain the advantage.

'N…NO…!' he growled desperately. 'I WILL NOT DI…TO UTHER'S SPAWN…!'

'Then die to me…' a voice said calmly from behind the former Plegian king.

A second later, a huge greatsword impaled Gangrel from behind; Chrom looked and saw that Mustafa, having fought his way through the Grimleal to get to his former liege.

'Y…YOU TRAITOR…!' Gangrel gurgled as Mustafa kicked him off of his blade. 'I would…have…freed us…all…!'

'No…you would have turned the world against us,' Mustafa corrected the dying man softly. 'It is your death that truly frees Plegia…'

With a final gurgle and a glare at the two men that he saw responsible for his demise, Gangrel the Mad King breathed his last and died on the sands of the country that, for all of his insanity, he had truly loved and tried to avenge.

With the death of Gangrel, the war between Plegia and Ylisse was at last over, much to the relief of all those that had survived.

'Thank you…' Chrom said, holding out a hand towards Mustafa.

After a moment of hesitation, the former general shook the prince's hand. 'No…than you, Prince Chrom. It was your obvious dedication and willingness to sacrifice yourself so that Exalt Emmeryn might survive Gangrel's insanity that truly made us all see the man he had become.' Sighing, the bald man looked sadly down at the dead body of his former king. 'It is sad though; for all his faults, I think he truly believed that what he was doing was in the best interests of his country. A wise man once said 'You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain'.' Mustafa chuckled humourlessly. 'Rather apt for this situation, don't you think?'

'I suppose…' Chrom replied, considering the Plegian's words and grudgingly seeing the merit to them. He then cleared his throat and asked, 'So…what will you do now?'

Mustafa pondered the prince's words before smiling.

'Go home and get some much needed rest, prince,' he said and looked happily up at the sky above him. 'I think that we ALL deserve a moment to enjoy that the war is now finally over…'

With that, Mustafa turned away and walked back towards where his countrymen where waiting. As he passed Raye, now in his human form, the manakete glanced at him.

'Good to see that Plegia still has some honour,' he said simply and clapped a hand on Mustafa's shoulders. 'I wish you well for the future, Mustafa of Plegia.'

'And I you, dragon of Ylisse,' Mustafa replied, nodding respectfully at the manakete.

The two warriors then walked back to their respective groups, not looking back.

()()()()()()()

When the Shepherds, all of them, finally arrived back in Ylisstol they were greeted by a storm of cheers and swooning citizens. Emmeryn herself was waiting at the gates and accompanied, much to the surprise of the Shepherds, by Flavia, Basilio and a pink haired woman who looked like she was trying to hide behind the Great Khan of Ferox.

'Flavia…Basilio…this is a surprise!' Chrom said in confusion as he had his hand crushed by the West Khan's handshake and his back cracked by Flavia as she it with her own.

'Well boy, we Feroxi were just about to move out to go rescue your asses when we received word that you were returning!' Flavia chuckled. 'Basilio here was almost beside himself with joy that he nearly cried like a little girl!'

'Bah, if I was it was only because I wouldn't have the chance to fight some Plegians myself!' the West Khan scoffed, grinning despite himself.

'Speaking of, how did you survive?' Emmeryn asked, embracing her brother as she spoke.

'Well, it turned out that because we had stayed behind to cover your retreat the Plegians that weren't insane decided that you must be worth making peace with!' Chrom explained, grinning at the amazed look that his sister gained at his words.

'Truly? Then my attempts at peace…' the Exalt breathed, tears of joy entering her eyes then.

'Were inly ignored by Gangrel and the Grimleal, not Plegia as a whole,' Chrom replied gently. 'You did it, Emm; you reached them!'

As Emmeryn broke down into relieved tears, the gathered crowds of Ylisseans all let out cheers and hailed every single Shepherd as national heroes.

'I could definitely get used to this!' Robin joked and she felt Chrom sneak his hand into hers.

'Then get used to it, Robin,' he murmured softly in her ear. 'Without every single one of you, and you especially, I doubt that any of us would be here today.'

'Oh, I didn't really do anything…' Robin retorted, blushing. 'Seriously, most of the work was done by you, Emmeryn and Raye.'

'No…you've helped me in more ways than anyone has done before,' the prince said firmly, shaking his head. 'And I am forever in your debt.'

Robin was silent then, content to gaze into Chrom's eyes before she slowly smiled mischievously and leant forward so that she could whisper, 'And I will forever make you remember that fact!'

()()()()()()()()

 _And thus, the Plegia arc is done and dusted!_

 _The next few chapters will be somewhat Interlude Chapters as they will focus purely on the two years between now and the Valmese War. Of course, I won't write the full two years, just enough that you get an idea as to how the Shepherds' lives go during that brief time of peace._

 _Hopefully some of you recognised the 'Batman' reference that I snuck in; I feel like they really do a good job of describing Gangrel. As much as I hate the man morally, objectively I understand what drove him to his madness. Not many people would be able to deal with the hardships of ruling a nation shattered by a war that was declared simply because someone did not approve of their faith._

 _Anyway, look forward to about two to three chapters of pure oddness coming up! If you would prefer for there to be less and would instead like me to get to the Valmese War quicker, do let me know and I may consider it._

 _Until then, ciao for now, my friends!_


	23. Chapter 19

-Chapter Nineteen- Peace in the Interim Part One-

 _ **Two Weeks-**_

 **-Truth and Confusion-**

'Are you sure that I can't come with you, master?' Sahria asked, a little sadly as she walked beside Raye and Tiki.

'Yeah, sorry, Sahria,' the older manakete replied. 'This trip…it's going to be a little personal for me and I want to involve only my family for this.'

'So why aren't you taking Nowi?' Sahria argued.

As they stopped outside of the gates leading to Ylisstol, Raye turned and patted his daughter on the head; Nowi had been clinging to him for the entire walk from the palace to the gate.

'Yeah, why aren't you taking me, papa?' Nowi now cried.

'Like I said, this is something that I want to do with just Tiki,' Raye said gently. 'It will be the first time I'll be in my mother's presence in a very long time and…I just want to do it this way.' He hugged Nowi as she began to cry. 'Don't worry; I'll come back as soon as I'm done. I will never abandon you, Nowi…ever…'

His daughter sniffed and wiped her eyes.

'O…okay, papa…as long as you PROMISE to come back!' she said, sounding slightly stern now.

Raye laughed. 'Of course, Nowi!' He then straightened and moved to hug Sahria as well. 'Look after her, yeah?'

'You can count on me, master!' Sahria replied.

Her master grinned. 'I was talking to Nowi.'

'Ah, just get out of here!' Sahria scoffed, slapping her master on the shoulder playfully.

With that, Raye stood back to stand beside Tiki and, a moment later, they both transformed into their dragon forms. One last nod at the two dragons that would be staying behind, the two children of Naga spread their wings and took the air. Hovering for a few seconds, they angled towards where the Mila Tree grew and were soon shooting off into the distance.

As the two dragons receded into the distance, Nowi wiped her eyes before turning around despondently and slouching back towards the city.

'Um…are you gonna be okay?' Sahria asked, hurrying after her.

'Yeah…I just need to be alone right now…' Nowi sighed. 'Go and enjoy yourself somewhere, young lady…'

Seeing that Nowi was in no mood to talk, Sahria nodded and let Nowi walk on ahead. After she had disappeared past the gate, the manakete sighed.

'Well…guess I have the day off…' she mumbled to herself. 'What to do though…?'

Sahria then remembered something Raye had said to her when he had first told her of his plan to go to the Mila Tree with Tiki.

()()()()()()()()

' _While I'm gone, you should get to know Yana,' he had said._

' _But…what do I say to her?' Sahria had mumbled uncertainly._

' _You've already helped her, haven't you? Start by asking if you can help her with her clerical duties or something.'_

' _But what if she gets suspicious…?'_

 _Raye had then sighed. 'Sahria…look, if she does find out who you really are, would that really be such a bad thing? You want to be with her, don't you?'_

' _But mama…'_

' _From what you told me about the last words future Yana said to you, I think she wanted you to get to know her younger self,' Raye had then pointed out. 'And anyway, time travel isn't the weirdest thing that has ever happened, nor probably will it ever be. My advice for if she DOES find out who you really are: be honest, don't give her even one lie.'_

 _Sahria had then looked down, a shamed look on her face. 'But what if she wants to know who my father is? How could she ever love me knowing that I'm the child of Grima?'_

 _Raye had looked at her before putting a comforting hand on her shoulder._

' _Don't forget, you are also the daughter of YANA,' he had gently reminded her. 'Even if Naga had been inhabiting her body at the time, you said that Grima had suppressed her so much that it really was Yana who was in control at the moment of your conception. That makes you truly the daughter of Yana, not just Grima.' He allowed her a moment to process his words before continuing._

' _Whatever you decide, it will ultimately be YOUR decision as to whether or not you want a friend…or a mother…'_

'… _Thanks, master…I mean it…'_

()()()()()()()

After remembering her master's words, Sahria slowly began walking back into Ylisstol. As she walked through the city, she began pondering Raye's question: did she want Yana to be her friend, or her mother?

It was as she remembered the Yana from her time that the longing and the feelings of gut wrenching sadness at the loss of the two people she had been close to in that timeline came surging back and caused her to stumble slightly before she slipped into the nearest alleyway and leant against the wall to let the tears that had begun to form fall.

' _I…I want my mama…'_ she cried to herself.

()()()()()()

With this realization, Sahria quickly made her way back to the palace, intending to search for Yana and…unfortunately, she did not know exactly what she would do then. She knew the possible ramifications for telling her mother who she was, but now that she had acknowledged that she wanted a mother again, the young manakete began feeling that she didn't care.

'I suppose…well, I did come here to change the future…' she mumbled to herself as she arrived at the Shepherds' barracks. 'Maybe the best way to do that is…to tell everyone…not just mama?'

As she walked into the barracks, she looked around to see if Yana was somewhere inside. To the young manakete's disappointment, the only people that she saw were Robin and Chrom. The two leaders of the Shepherds hadn't seen her yet and Sahria was surprised when she saw Chrom lean forward and gently press his lips to Robin's, eliciting a giggle from the tactician.

Sahria gulped, but before she could turn around and quickly leave Chrom suddenly noticed the manakete and immediately withdrew his head and stood up. Robin looked over her shoulder and started with embarrassment.

'Um…this isn't what it looks like…' Chrom stuttered.

Sahria raised her eyebrows. 'Really? Cos it looks like you were trying to kiss Robin secretly…'

'Well…then it's exactly what it looks like…'

The manakete sighed. 'Er…hate to break it to you, my lord, but…everyone already kinda knows about you and Robin…'

This surprised both Robin and Chrom.

'What? How?' Chrom asked quickly.

'You should probably try to keep it down when you mate…'

At this, Robin went a bright shade of red while Chrom sat back down and put his head in his hands.

'So…you overheard us…?' he mumbled.

Sahria grimaced. 'No, but Lucina did; poor girl ran into the healer's tent the night after Gangrel's ambush and burst into tears.' She looked reproachfully at the two lovers then. 'I had to comfort her for nearly three hours! Plus, VAIKE was in the tent at the time and he heard exactly what Lucina had said. Probably the last person you'd have wanted to know about your little trysts, correct?'

Chrom looked up in horrified 'Oh gods…that explains why all of the Shepherds have been giving me strange looks and why Vaike's been smirking for the past two weeks; he must have told them all!' He facepalmed before turned to Robin. 'Well…guess we should make it official then?'

'Guess so, but from the sounds of it there really isn't any point…' Robin sighed. 'If they really all do know…'

'Well, I'll just leave you two to it…' Sahria interrupted then. 'But um…before I go…have either of you seen Yana?'

'Not for a while but I think she said she was going to go to the temple and check up on her friends…' Chrom replied distractedly.

'Thanks…and bye…'

With that, the manakete turned on her heel and quickly left the barracks, her new destination the Temple of Naga.

()()()()()()()()()

Meanwhile, Yana had just walked in on her own awkward moment involving a Shepherd: intending to check up on the three survivors of Rielet, she had opened the door to the grand library and found, much to her shock, Kari and Stahl half naked with Kari in the process of pulling the knight's remaining clothes off.

'Uh…s…sorry…!' the red faced cleric mumbled before rushing out of the room and slamming the door shut. Much to her further embarrassment, she heard Kari sigh before telling Stahl to put his clothes back on.

A moment later, Yana heard the door open briefly before closing softly

'Hey…sorry you had to see that,' Kari said softly, sitting next to where Yana had crouched in the corner.

'No, I should apologise…' Yana hurriedly replied, not meeting her friend's eyes. 'I…I just wasn't prepared to see your breasts all…bare…like that again…'

'Missing the feel of them, are we?' Kari joked before sighing. 'Yana, you CAN look at me now; I put my shirt back on.'

Yana sneaked a look before letting out a yelp; Kari's words had been an utter lie.

'KARI!' she wailed before slapping her hands over her eyes. 'WHY WOULD YOU LIE ABOUT THAT?'

'Oh, relax, Yana!' the purple haired woman laughed, though kindly. 'It's not like you've never seen them before…and fondled them…'

'Is…is that true…?' The two women looked around and saw that Stahl was looking slightly awestruck at what he had heard as he had joined them.

Kari smirked. 'Sorry, lover, but I'm not going to offer to have a threesome with her.'

'L…lover…?' Yana squeaked. 'Are…are you two…together…?' When Kari nodded, Yana shook her head in disbelief. 'Since when?!'

'Well, when Sir Stahl was escorting me and the others to Ylisstol, we got to talking…' Kari paused. '…Okay, flirting…anyway, over the next following days we got to know each other more and when he came back after you all went to Plegia…I kind of…offered to bed him…' Yana's friend then smiled fondly at Stahl. 'And I was…PLEASANTLY impressed at Sir Stahl's…vigour…'

Yana blanched. 'Naga, don't actually tell me that!'

'Sorry…anyway, after that day we decided to explore…whatever this was and have been together ever since,' Kari continued. She then shrugged. 'Not exactly the most romantic story ever, but you know I was never much of a romantic.'

'Alright…just one, final question though…why in the name of Naga were you about to have sex in her Temple?!' Yana's tone became reproachful as she spoke then.

A guilty look crossed Kari's face. 'I…may have insisted that we make love in a few places not many people would thing of…'

'WHY?'

'Um…the rush…?' Kari replied, shying away from the annoyed look that her friend was sending her way.

'FOR…Naga's sake, Kari…' Yana sighed, shaking her head in frustration. 'Look, I don't mind that you've found someone again, I just wish that you'd at least told me about it…and didn't decide to do…lewd things in a holy place!'

'Heh, well, Sir Stahl knows a lot about my lewd 'holy' places…' Kari joked, before cringing as Yana slapped her on the top of her head. 'Sorry, we'll go fuck somewhere else!'

'And don't use that language here!' Yana admonished, though she was smiling slightly now as Kari accepted her shirt from Stahl who had thoughtfully brought them out with him. 'At least wait until you're outside of its confines!'

'Yes, mother!' Kari sighed, rolling her eyes but also grinning.

After the purple haired woman had pulled her shirt over her head, she then glanced slyly at Stahl before, much to Yana's surprise, drew the cleric in and kissed her passionately, making sure that the knight saw the fact that she also used a lot of tongue. Stahl stared, his jaw slack, as Kari finally ended the kiss, which had lasted for several seconds, and took in a breath.

'Wow…even though that was totally sprung on you, you sure responded pretty eagerly!' she said, panting slightly.

She then stood up, grabbed the still dumbstruck knight by the hand and dragged him away as Yana also got to her feet.

'H…Hey! Don't use me as a means to make your boyfriend aroused!' she called after them.

Kari waved over her shoulder and said, 'Love you too, Yana!'

Yana shook her head bemusedly as the two newly discovered lovers left.

'Naga…she's going to be the death of me!' she muttered to herself.

()()()()()()()

As Sahria reached the Temple of Naga, she was forced to move aside as a man she immediately recognised as Stahl of the Shepherds was led by the hand by a purple haired woman. Glancing briefly at the giggling pair, she shrugged and made her way into the temple proper. Looking around, she felt her heart leap into her throat when she saw her mother walking down a nearby staircase. It began to beat faster when she saw that Yana had immediately noticed her, the beats reaching a drumroll as the cleric walked towards the young manakete.

'Hello, Sahria, what brings you here?' Yana asked, smiling.

Sahria gulped and forced her knees to stop shaking. 'Uh…um…I…I was wondering of you…wanted some help with anything….?' the young manakete stammered, despite her attempt at sounding casual.

Yana, naturally, noticed how nervous the young girl was and frowned.

'Are you alright, sweetie?' she asked in a concerned voice.

She then did something that made the manakete freeze: thinking that perhaps Sahria was coming down with a fever, Yana had taken a step forward and placed her hand on Sahria's forehead, intending to check her temperature.

Her touch caused the young manakete to let out a surprised squeak before, much to the surprise of everyone who was nearby, a pair of wings sprouted from her back and she leaped backwards, breathing heavily.

'Uh…sorry, I…thought you might be coming down with something!' Yana quickly apologised, retreating a few steps backwards as the young manakete seemed to hyperventilate. 'I did not mean to startle you.'

'Um…no…I…I'm sorry…!' Sahria cried awkwardly. She tried to retract her wings but found that her nerves were so shaky that she was unable to concentrate on the act. 'Um…sorry everyone! I'll…I'll try not to break anything with them!'

The two Shepherds then looked around when there was a small cough from behind Yana; High Priestess Lydia had been drawn by the sight of Sahria's wings and was now looking curiously at her.

'Young lady…are you perhaps a manakete, like Lady Tiki and Lord Raye?' the holy mother asked when she had their attention.

'Um…yeah…' Sahria replied hesitantly. 'Ra…I mean Lord Raye is my mentor…'

'That is interesting to hear…' Lydia mused before smiling again. 'There are rather a lot of manakete's gracing the temple in recent days, something that I am very honoured by!' The woman sighed in happiness then, a faraway look on her face as she continued. 'I was greatly shocked to see the Voice of Naga herself arrive here only a few days ago; it will go down as possibly the greatest moment of my life!'

'Er…I'm happy for you?' Sahria said uncertainly. 'I still don't get what your interest in me is.'

'Oh…apologies…I was just curious to know what you connection might have been to the other manaketes that have graced us with their presence,' the priestess replied, coming back down to earth.

'So…you aren't going to try and get me to join the temple or anything?' Sahria asked.

Lydia laughed. 'Not unless you want to, my dear! I have no intention of forcing you to join, or to force you into anything at all, as a matter of fact.'

Sahria studied the older woman before her for a moment. 'Well…I can't say that I'm not entirely uninterested in the prospect of learning more about your faith,' she finally said. 'But yeah, not right now.'

'Whatever you decide, just know that you can always come her to talk or vent,' Lydia replied, smiling, before bidding them both farewell and leaving.

'She's an interesting lady,' Sahria remarked when the High Priestess was out of earshot.

'That she is,' Yana agreed and the two of them laughed for a second before an awkward silence descended on them.

'You know…' Yana continued hesitantly. 'If you were still up for assisting me…I do need an extra hand with some Shepherds related business.'

Sahria snuck a glance at her mother. 'What kinda business?'

'Oh, Chrom just wants me to move into the castle,' Yana sighed. 'He insisted for so long that I finally gave in and agreed. Lissa then also ordered me to go out and get some more clothes, since all I've been wearing is the dress that she lent me nearly a month ago.' The cleric looked ruefully down at the green dress that she was still wearing. 'I fear that the dress has become somewhat torn over the adventures that I've been through and so I've reluctantly agreed to do as Lissa said.'

'So a shopping trip then?' Sahria commented and Yana nodded. The young manakete smiled. 'Sure, that sounds like something you'd need a hand with so I can definitely help you with that!'

'Thank you, sweetie,' Yana smiled. 'I promise not to get too crazy on you.'

()()()()()()()

Some time later, Sahria found herself sitting on a bench, fidgeting and feeling slightly out of place, in a very fancy store. The manakete looked around again and grimaced at all of the frilly clothes that lined the walls and racks of the store's interior.

' _I think my eyes are about to throw up!'_ she thought to herself. _'Please tell me mama doesn't actually like this sort of stuff?'_

She began humming the tune that her mother used to sing for her while she waited. The song was something her mother had used when she had been very young, usually to calm her down whenever Sahria had cried. Naturally, it was also her favourite.

The manakete, as she was humming, didn't notice that Yana, who had been about to walk out of the changing booth, had frozen when she heard a very familiar tune coming from Sahria. It was the second time that she had heard it, but this time she now had the opportunity to confront Sahria about it.

Pretending to be casual, Yana stepped out of the booth, causing the manakete to stop her humming and look at her. The instant she did, she grimaced.

'Er…Yana…please tell me you aren't thinking of buying that?' Sahria asked cautiously; Yana was currently wearing a truly horrid, multi-coloured monstrosity of a dress, complete with frilly sleeves and a huge collar.

Momentarily distracted, Yana looked down at herself and frowned.

'What? What's wrong with it?' she asked, confused.

Sahria sighed. 'What ISN'T wrong with it is more the appropriate question.'

'So…you don't like it then?'

'It's not that I don't _like_ it…' Sahria mumbled, seeing the disappointed look on her mother's face. 'It's just…anyone that sees it is most likely going to either throw up at the sheer amount of colours or laugh so hard that they faint…'

'Oh…brutally honest, aren't you?' Yana sighed. She then shrugged. 'Well, if I got this sort of reaction from a manakete, I suppose we could try a less frivolously focussed clothes store.'

With a feeling of relief, Sahria watched as her mother went back into the booth and, a few minutes later, came back out wearing the green dress she had started the hunt for clothes in.

'Alright, let's go,' Yana said, gesturing for Sahria to follow her as she bade farewell to the storeowner. 'We passed a more modest store a while ago that had some nice dresses that I kind of liked the look of.'

'As long as they don't make you look like a rainbow, that sounds good,' Sahria replied jokingly.

Yana smiled and the two made their way through the busy street. After walking in silence for a few minutes, the cleric decided to ask about the song that Sahria had been humming.

'Um…Sahria…quick question, if you feel like answering?' Yana asked, trying to sound casual.

'Sure, what is it?'

'I…kind of heard you humming a song and was wondering where you'd heard it?' Yana continued, glancing at the manakete out of the corner of her eye to see her reaction; she immediately saw the way that Sahria's face paled at her question.

'Oh…that tune…um….' Sahria stuttered, realising that she may have made a very foolish mistake; humming the tune had become second nature to her whenever she had been alone or thoughtful and she hadn't even thought of the possibility that this timeline's Yana would have known it.

Panicking slightly, the manakete blurted out part of the truth, saying, 'Er…m…my mother taught me it…'

'And who is your mother, may I ask?' Yana said, now stopping and turning to look at Sahria directly.

Sahria tried to avoid her mother's eyes, but found that she was unable to do so as the cleric's blue eyes seemed to draw her in. Her own purple eyes filled with tears when she saw how suspicious they were.

'Um…well…she…she was a cleric…like you…' she mumbled. 'She used to sing me that song when I was younger whenever I was upset…'

'Do you know where she heard it?'

Sahria fidgeted, realising that the conversation was quickly spiralling out of her control.

'…From what I know…she…she came up with it herself…' the manakete finally mumbled.

At this, Yana frowned. 'Well, that seems unlikely, since that song is something that I came up with when I was just a little girl. I used that song whenever I was called upon during any vigil's at Rielet's church.' She then looked suspiciously at the young girl in front of her, who she noted was looking extremely fearful. 'Now, I ask again: where did you learn that song? Are you from Rielet?'

Sahria's next reaction took Yana completely by surprise: the manakete burst into tears and, pushing past her, sprinted off through the crowds.

'Sahria! Wait!' Yana shouted out to her, beginning to pursue her and feeling slightly guilty about how she had handle things.

()()()()()()()

As she ran into the Shepherds' barracks, Sahria sprinted passed a surprised Lucina and, reaching her room, barricaded herself into it and threw herself onto her bed.

' _I'm…I'm such an IDIOT!'_ she berated herself mentally as she sobbed into her pillow.

She froze when she heard a knock on her door, but relaxed when she heard Lucina's voice.

'Um…are you okay, Sahria?' the bluenette called through the door. 'Do you…want to talk about it?'

Sahria wiped her eyes and, getting to her feet, went over and opened the door.

Lucina frowned when she saw that it was evident that the other girl had been crying.

'What happened?' she asked as she stepped into the room and closed the door behind her.

Much to her embarrassment the manakete, blinded by a sudden need for comfort, suddenly pressed her lips to hers before jerking her head back.

'S…sorry…I just…' the manakete mumbled, looking away from Lucina as she moved towards the bed. 'I just…really needed to do that…I mean, not that it HAD to be you…' She smiled awkwardly. 'Honestly, if VAIKE came through that door I probably would have done the same.'

'Probably a good thing that it was me, then!' Lucina joked awkwardly. She then sat next to Sahria. 'So, um…do you want to tell me what happened now?

'Just…just had kind of an embarrassing moment with Yana…' the manakete mumbled in reply, pushing a loose strand of white hair out away from her eyes.

Lucina frowned again. 'What do you mean? What thing could make you that upset?' She grimaced. 'You…you didn't mistakenly walk in on her…in an intimate moment with someone, did you?'

Sahria blanched. 'Gods no! If I had I would be way more upset!' Calming down, she continued. 'No, Yana just…heard something from me that I should've realised she'd recognise.'

'…And that was…?'

The manakete looked at Lucina. Her bottled up emotions, and the stress that had been gradually building up over having to keep her secret from everyone and finally reaching bursting point due to her confrontation with her mother, finally made her no longer care about keeping it.

Knowing that there was no longer any going back, Sahria took a deep breath before saying, so softly that Lucina had to lean in,

'What if I told you that I was from the future?'

As soon as she realised what Sahria was telling her, Lucina froze as she tried to process what the manakete had just said.

' _D…did I just hear her say that?'_ she asked herself, not entirely sure that she had. Out loud, she coughed and asked, uncertainly, 'Um…mind repeating that?'

Sahria sighed. 'It may be…hard to believe, Lucina, but I'm not from this timeline…'

The future princess stared at the manakete.

'Gods, you're serious!' she finally burst out, louder than she had intended and immediately regretting her tone when Sahria shied away from her reflexively.

'Yes, I am,' Sahria replied quickly. 'But you can't tell anyone this!'

Lucina shook her head in disbelief. 'But why are you telling me, then?'

'Because I can't keep doing this!' Sahria suddenly cried with frustration. 'I've only been here for ONE month and I'm already a mess!' Calming down, she smiled crookedly at Lucina. 'Even with the comfort my master has been giving me, I no longer feel that I can do this.'

'So…Raye knows?' Lucina asked. Sahria nodded and she asked, 'Is he from the future?'

Sahria shook her head. 'No, but I…kind of broke down like I am now and ended up telling him as well.'

The two girls sat in silence for several minutes then, Lucina somewhat stunned by the recent revelations. The bluenette grappled with herself, her own similar frustrations about keeping quiet about her true origins now also beginning to bubble within.

'Are…are you the only one that's come from the future?' she eventually asked.

The other girl nodded. 'Yes, as far as I know. I…I was forced to leave behind my mother and first master during my escape from my timeline.'

'What happened? What was your future like?' Lucina asked, now very curious.

Sahria sighed and then launched into a long explanation of the doomed future that she had come from. She omitted the detail that she was also Grima's daughter, but everything else, from her blind former master and the identity of who her mother was, the manakete eventually told to her silent companion.

After she was done, she waited for Lucina to say something. The bluenette was then quiet for so that Sahria was worried that she didn't believe her. However, before she could open her mouth to ask if Lucina was alright, the future princess finally spoke.

'Well…that's…' Lucina let out a breath. 'That's…I'm so sorry you had to go through all that!' She then grimaced. 'And I can definitely understand your reaction to Yana's suspicion.'

'Wait…you believe me?' Sahria asked quickly, genuinely surprised. She then frowned when Lucina looked at her with an odd look of guilt on her face.

'Um…well, it could be because…I know exactly what you're going through…because I'm also from the future…'

It was the manakete's turn to stare at her companion in disbelief.

'Wait…what…?' she cried after a moment.

Lucina echoed Sahria's sigh before going into her own explanation. As she spoke, the future princess felt all of the stress and sadness that she finally acknowledged having inside her begin to lift off of her shoulders.

When she had finished, Sahria studied her.

'Huh…you know, that kind of explains a few things…' she eventually commented. 'But there's definitely a big difference between our two futures'

'What's that?'

'I…hate to say it, but where I come from…you were never born…'

Lucina froze at what she heard. 'What…? What do you mean?'

Sahria looked away for a moment before saying, 'In my future, Grima was actually resurrected before the end of the Plegian war. In my timeline, Gangrel also killed Chrom, but was in turn by his Robin and my mother, who survived. I only know this because my old master told me about it once when I pestered him about how Grima had come to be the ruler of everything.' She looked apologetically. 'Which also means that you were obviously never born…sorry…'

'Oh…well that explains why you didn't recognise me…' Lucina mused. 'As for why I haven't recognised you…in _my_ timeline, Yana didn't even exist! At least she was never found…' She frowned. 'I guess that means that we have both came back to a timeline that is completely different than what we expected; in this one, Grima hasn't been resurrected, and your mother has actually been found!'

'Huh, when you say it like that, it's like the two big differences in our timelines are both in THIS one…' Sahria said thoughtfully. She then realised something that made her face go slightly red. 'Wait a minute…this means that we're actually cousins…doesn't it?'

Lucina also blushed. 'Oh…well…I don't know…' she stuttered. 'I mean…that kiss didn't mean anything…right? After all, you did say that you would've kissed anyone that came through that door…'

'Er…I guess…' Sahria replied, equally embarrassed. She then looked down and fidgeted. 'But…um…I probably wouldn't have…enjoyed it as much…'

They looked away from each other, glancing everywhere but at each other.

Finally, it was Lucina who broke the extremely awkward silence.

'I…er…I should probably go and think a few things out…' she coughed, glancing now at Sahria and going red when her blue eyes met the manakete's purple ones. 'Um…but if you want to talk some more, don't hesitate to come find me…'

'Thanks…' Sahria replied, getting up at the same time as Lucina and walking with her to the door.

Before she left, Lucina paused and said, 'You should probably tell Yana about this; she won't rest until she figures out why you ran away from her like you did and it will only harm whatever relationship you hope to have with her in the future.'

Sahria sighed. 'Yeah, you're probably right…' she admitted. She then looked curiously at the other future child. 'Does this mean that you're going to tell Chrom who you really are as well?'

Lucina pondered the question before slowly and reluctantly nodding.

'I…suppose that I no longer have a choice,' she muttered. 'Besides, we've already changed the future so much that I guess one more wyvern in the works won't really matter in the long run.'

'Are you sure? I mean, I wouldn't want you to have to go through the trauma of talking to your parents just because of my mistake!'

Lucina smiled and shook her head. 'No, it's fine. If I'm going to be honest with myself, I most likely would have made my own mistake eventually and revealed that I was his daughter from the future.' She then went red in the face again. 'Besides…I get the feeling that I'm going to be born sooner than I expected in this timeline; I feel like I should tell my parents who I am because of that, if only so that they give me the same name I have now.'

'Oh yeah…you're unfortunate eavesdropping on Chrom and…Robin…' the manakete paused before letting out an exclamation. 'Holy Naga…Robin's your mother!'

'Er, yeah…what of it?' Lucina asked, confused.

Sahria grimaced. 'I forgot to mention this, but in my timeline Robin's kind of…a guy…and is also actually my…father…' Again, she neglected to mention that it was actually Grima, using Robin's body, who was really her father.

'Oh…that kind of makes our kiss slightly more awkward then…' Lucina replied, looking down at her feet and shuffling them. 'Then again…I don't think we're actually _that_ closely related, considering that neither of us were born in the other's timeline.'

Sahria raised an eyebrow. 'Lucina…are you trying to make up something that excuses the fact that we both clearly enjoyed that kiss despite now finding out that we may technically be related?'

'No, just saying…' Lucina mumbled before shaking her head and looking sternly at the manakete. 'Anyway, go find Yana and tell her…I'll…I'll try and work up the courage to tell Robin and my father who I am as well.'

'I guess good luck to us both, then,' Sahria commented and, for the first time since she had rushed to her room, smiled.

'Yes…we're both going to need it…'

With that, the two girls parted ways, one off to figure out the odd feelings that had begun to stir within her for the other but knew that she should suppress and figure out how to tell two people that she was their daughter, while the other went off to find her own mother.

()()()()()()()

After nearly an hour of searching, Sahria finally found Yana; the cleric was sitting, thankfully for the manakete alone, in a small courtyard with a single tree. Her mother was reading a thick book, but looked up when she sensed someone approaching.

Seeing who it was, Yana scrambled to her feet, placing her book on the ground beside her as she said, 'Oh…Sahria…I'm glad that you're here…' She then shuffled her feet awkwardly before continuing. 'I…wanted to apologise for interrogating you about that song; I should never have been as harsh as I was about it!'

'Oh…um…that's okay…' Sahria replied, also shuffling her feet as she tried to hold onto the earlier determination that she had forced herself to gain as she had searched for her mother. 'I…someone has recently told me that I should be truthful to you, and so…here I am…'

'You don't have to if you feel uncomfortable about it, Sahria,' Yana quickly said, feeling guilty.

Sahria shook her head firmly. 'No…I want to do this now…!' she looked down again. 'I just…please don't hate me for what I'm about to say.'

'Why would I hate you?' Yana asked, confused.

'Because…because you might not even believe me when I tell you…' Here, Sahria took a shuddering breath as she said, '…mama…'

At the last word, Yana blinked. 'I'm sorry…what…?' She looked searchingly at the teenager in front of her. 'Did you call me…'mama'?'

The manakete gulped and looked down at the ground, wringing her hands nervously.

'This…this may be a lot to take in…but…I'm your daughter…from the future…' Sahria dared a little glance up at her mother and was sad to see that Yana had an expression of disbelief.

'No…you can't be serious!' Yana said then.

'Mama…'

'Don't call me that!' Yana snapped harshly and causing the manakete to recoil. 'You...is this some kind of sick joke or something?'

'No, mama…please…!' Sahria replied desperately. 'I…I can prove it…!' Now, she took a determined step forward and looked Yana directly in the eyes. 'Look, I have the Brand of the Exalt in my left eye! Please, just look!'

Despite her reluctance, Yana looked into the eye indicated; after a moment, she saw to her shock that Sahria had not been lying and recognised the same brand she and her family had in the purple iris of the manakete.

'What…?' she mumbled, as she instinctively raised her hand to touch Sahria on the cheek. 'How…how can this be…?'

Sahria smiled, voice thick with emotion, as she continued, 'And…remember, I knew the song that you yourself created…'

'Sahria…you're…really my daughter?' Yana breathed, reaching up and brushing away some wayward strands of hair from her daughter's face.

'Y…yes…mama…' Sahria said before bursting into tears and hugging Yana fiercely.

With a wondrous look on her face, Yana allowed the young manakete to sink into her embrace.

'Well…huh…'

()()()()()()

 _Right, so that got fairly emotional for Sahria in this chapter. Finally telling Yana the truth, though probably a lot sooner than you all might have expected me to have her do, was really a breaking point for her. Don't worry though, she'll now be a lot happier and (oh god what have I done?) even more energetic now that she doesn't have to bother with being so 'reserved'._

 _I feel like I should also explain why I've decided to actually go through with pairing Lucina and Sahria together. Trust me, after someone pointed out, and reminded me, that they are actually cousins (thank you_ _ **99**_ _) I really began to reconsider my decision. But after quite a while of sitting in my chair and staring blankly at the computer screen, I decide that there were perfectly acceptable reasons for such a pairing: one, they are both from different universes where neither existed in the other; two, in the game (the Japanese version anyway) Lucina can actually marry Owain who is, as we all know, also her cousin; three, while both were born from a pairing with a Robin, Sahria's Robin is a guy and obviously quite different from Lucina's, so much so that I don't think we can really call them actual sisters; and four, in some cultures (also including Japan), especially concerning royalty, it's acceptable for cousins to be romantically involved. Not entirely sure where they stand on same sex, cousin relationships, though, but I'll assume that they don't really have anything against it, despite most cultures not liking that sort of thing for non-related same sex couples. In my opinion, who you love shouldn't be dictated by anyone but the person's involved. Of course, I'm on the fence when it comes to ACTUAL brother and sister relationships, but thankfully that doesn't really apply in this particular situation (probably)._

 _I hope that these are acceptable reasons for pairing the two of them together, but don't mistake me for not hearing and understanding any concerns you have. We are, after all, all allowed to have and voice our opinions and I won't be offended if yours don't fall along mine. You've stuck with me so far, so I should at least show you the same courtesy._

 _Anyway, the next chapter will focus on the other Shepherds, as well as Robin and Chrom's fast growing relationship. There will be a moment between Nowi and Tharja, in which our favourite obsessed dark mage discovers that Nowi is the daughter of the man she…obsesses over (yeah could have worded that a little better._

 _Ciao for now!_


	24. Chapter 20

-Chapter Twenty- Peace in the Interim Part Two-

 **Two Weeks/3 Days-**

 **-Veil of Secrecy Broken-**

Three says after she had discovered that Sahria was her daughter to the future, Yana found herself happier than she had been in quite some time. Having spent the following days, the new mother came to one, simply conclusion: Sahria was the most adorable girl she had ever met.

Even before finding out their connection, Yana had casually thought that the younger female was cute, with her long hair with its blue tips that always seemed to be getting in her eyes, to the nose that, now that she was able to really look, was similar to her own in every way and finally to the way the manakete's purple eyes now lit up whenever they were together, which was all the time. Since finally telling Yana the truth, Sahria had not gone from her side for even one second, although she reserved herself whenever the cleric needed to clean or go to sleep; any other time, the two were enjoying each other's company.

However, there was one thing that made Yana pause, and that was the fact that no matter how much she asked Sahria would never tell her who her father was. When she had then asked why, the manakete had looked away and, in a nervous voice, had told her that it was something that the cleric needed to find out for herself.

After being told in no uncertain terms that the subject of her father was something that Sahria was not going to divulge, Yana had then began to think about all of the possible fathers and she had come to only one person who truly fit: the only male manakete that she knew existed, Raye. However, when Yana had one last time tried to pry for information and asked Sahria straight out if he was her father, the young manakete had looked at her before bursting into loud laughter that laughed for much longer than Yana had thought appropriate.

'I…I'm sorry, mama!' Sahria had then giggled, seeing the frown on her mother's face. 'It's just that thinking about _him_ wanting any more kids other than Nowi is just funny to me! He can barely handle ONE; I doubt that he would ever want to have another!'

'I suppose that that's a valid point,' Yana had grumbled, but had then smiled as she watched her daughter trying to suppress more giggles.

Now, two days later, Yana and Sahria were a hot topic for the Shepherds to talk about, not having much else interesting happen during the two weeks after Gangrel's defeat. Naturally, they had all noticed the sudden increase in their time together and, not knowing their connection to one another, they all immediately assumed the same thing, that being that the two women were actually romantically involved in some way or another. It also didn't help that they had heard from Stahl about the little incident at the temple when Kari had kissed the cleric.

'Seriously, those two have to be together!' Sully was now arguing with Virion and Vaike. 'I mean, you heard what Stahl said; it seems Chrom's sister don't mind the company of females every now and then!'

'My dear Sully, please be careful what you say with that perfectly shaped mouth of yours!' the archer hissed, glancing around to make sure that no members of the royal family had heard her. 'It would not do for you to say such a scandalous thing…and be overheard by the parties in question! Sahria in particular is one girl, no matter how small or young she may appear to be, that I would not want to anger.'

Sully grimaced. 'Good point, Ruffles…but still, ya have to admit…'

Vaike laughed. 'Bah, what does it matter if they're an item or not? The Vaike reckons good for them if it's true!'

'If what's true?'

The three Shepherds whipped around when a new voice joined their conversation and froze when they saw Chrom, a frown of curiosity on his face, standing a few feet away from where they had been conversing.

'Uh…Chrom, buddy! How long have you been there?' Vaike asked nervously, glancing at Virion and Sully and seeing that their faces had also paled.

'Just got here, actually,' Chrom replied, now frowning deeper at his friends' expressions. 'Now, how about you tell me what you're talking about? It's clear that it's something serious.'

'Oh…well…we were just wondering about something concerning Yana…' Sully said awkwardly after a moment.

'She's not unwell is she?' Chrom asked quickly, now feeling slightly concerned.

'No, at least probably not?' the cavalier mumbled. 'I mean…c'mon Chrom, surely you've noticed it?'

'Noticed what?' the prince demanded. 'Dammit, Sully, this is my sister we're talking about; if there's something wrong with her that you've noticed that I haven't then for Naga's sake tell me!'

'Alright, alright, fine!' Sully shouted. When Chrom began to tap his foot impatiently, Sully sighed and said, 'Chrom, have you noticed that Yana has been spending quite a lot of time together lately?'

Chrom was surprised now; this hadn't been what he had expected Sully to say.

'Not really…but why does that matter?' he asked. 'I mean, it's not that odd for Shepherds to spend time together.'

'Yeah…but those two haven't separated from each other's company in THREE days!' Sully continued. 'In fact, the only time I've seen them apart is whenever Yana needs to bathe!'

'Really?' Chrom asked, frowning again. 'Are you sure you're not imagining things?'

Sully shook her head. 'Nope, and you know I ain't no liar, Chrom.'

The prince studied her and saw that she truly wasn't lying. With this in mind, he slowly began to see the implications of what Sully told him.

'So…what you're trying to tell me is that my sister, a member of the royal family and someone I only just recently discovered existed…is romantically involved with a teenage girl who also happens to be a manakete?' Chrom looked at Sully to confirm that she understood what he was saying before continuing. 'Is that what you're trying to tell me?'

'Well, when you put it like that it sounds bad,' Sully replied awkwardly. 'But yeah, that's pretty much the current opinion.'

Chrom sighed. 'While I appreciate you telling me this, I don't think there's anything wrong if they decide to spend time together. As for whether or that time is spent in a romantic way, I'm sure that you're just reading too...much…into it…'

Chrom's words had trailed off because it was at that moment that Yana had just entered the main hall of the Shepherds' barracks and, just as Sully, Virion and Vaike were expecting, the cleric was accompanied by the young manakete. The prince's eye twitched when he saw that the pair were currently holding hands.

As they went over and sat down at a nearby table, Chrom immediately walked over to them and hovered beside Yana.

'Er…are you alright, Chrom?' Yana asked after he stood there in complete silence for a few seconds.

Chrom chewed the inside if his cheek before asking, flat out,' Yana, are you and Sahria together?'

His sister blinked in surprise. 'What? What do you mean by that?'

'What I meant was are the two of you romantically involved?' Chrom repeated.

At this, horrified looks appeared on Yana and Sahria's faces and they immediately looked in the direction of Sully and the two male Shepherds who were watching the exchange. Seeing Yana look their way, they immediately, and unsuccessfully, tried to act casual and pretended that they were in their own deep conversation.

Sighing, Yana grabbed Chrom's arm and dragged him to the upper level of the barracks, gesturing for Sahria to follow them. When she was sure that the three of them couldn't be overheard, she let go of her brother's arm and stepped back.

'Chrom, first of all where did you hear such a ridiculous rumour?' she asked then. 'I'm going to guess that Sully, Virion or Vaike told you about it, but I get the feeling that they aren't its source.'

'You would be correct in saying that it was one of those three that told me about it,' Chrom admitted shortly. 'But as for who started it…' He looked away for a moment before continuing. 'Uh…apparently ALL of the Shepherds are under the impression that you and Sahria are…involved…'

'Oh for Naga's sake!' Sahria muttered. 'Seriously? They can't look at two women being so close without thinking that they're in a relationship? How dumb can they be?'

'Now, to be fair to them, you have apparently been spending an inordinate amount of time together lately,' Chrom protested, distancing himself slightly from the frustrated manakete. 'I don't really mind if it's true, I just hope that you don't take out any annoyance you have on them!'

Yana shook her head in bemusement while Sahria slapped her palm against her face. They then shared a quick look.

'I fear that we may have to tell him,' Yana eventually said.

'Yeah, but I don't know if he'll believe us!' Sahria pointed out.

'What? What won't I believe?' Chrom asked impatiently. 'What's going on between the two of you?'

Yana groaned at her brother's persistence.

'Sahria…I have to tell him!' she sighed. 'Unless I do, the Shepherds are going to keep thinking that we're…together…'

Yana's daughter grimaced. 'Fine, just don't blame me if he faints!'

The cleric smiled before returning her attention back to her brother.

'Okay, Chrom…what I'm about to tell you is going to seem a little strange at first,' she warned him. 'Naga, even I had trouble dealing with it for a moment before I came to accept what Sahria is to me.'

'Okay…and that would be…?' Chrom said impatiently.

Yana took in a breath before saying, as clearly and as slowly as she could, 'Sahria…it turns out that she's from the future…and that she's my daughter…'

There was a moment's silence as Chrom stared at his twin. The next moment, there was a thud as the prince slowly keeled over onto his back, out cold.

Yana and Sahria stood over him and looked down at the unconscious prince.

'See, mama; I knew he'd do that!'

()()()()()()()

Chrom groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. When he looked around, he saw that he was now in his room in Ylisstol's palace. Looking to his left, he immediately saw Yana sitting in a chair next to his bed and Sahria leaning against the wall next to an open window.

Yana, seeing that her brother was awake, quickly stood up and put a hand to his forehead.

'Are you alright, Chrom?' she asked. 'You kind of fainted on us back there.'

'Oh…Yana…yeah, I'm alright,' the prince replied, sighing with relief and letting his head fall back to his pillow. 'Had a weird dream though; I dreamt that you were telling me that Sahria was from the future and that she was your daughter!' Chrom laughed then and so missed the amused look that his sister shot at the manakete, who smirked in response.

'Um, Chrom, I don't know how to tell you this but…you weren't dreaming,' Yana said, as gently as possible. 'Sahria really IS from the future and she really IS my daughter.'

Chrom blinked rapidly before shooting out of bed and getting to his feet, breathing heavily.

'Naga…you're serious!' he exclaimed, his eyes darting between his sister and her apparent daughter. 'But…but how is that possible?!'

'To put it bluntly, magic,' Sahria explained, pushing herself away from the wall and moving to stand beside her mother. 'Specifically, magic from my timeline's Naga.'

'Are you saying that the Divine Dragon Naga sent you back your past herself?' Chrom cried in disbelief. 'Why?'

'Yes, you never really explained that to me either,' Yana put in. Her daughter had told her about how she had come back to the past, but not the circumstances that led her to doing so.

'Right…um, perhaps I should go get Lucina for this,' Sahria replied, shuffling her feet that Yana now knew was a sign of the manakete's nervousness. She herself did it and she now realised that her daughter had probably picked up the habit from her.

'Wait, what does Lucina have to do with this?' Chrom asked in confusion.

At this, the manakete looked surprised and a little guilty.

'Er…has she not spoken to you yet?' she asked cautiously.

'No, I haven't even seen her since we came back,' the prince replied.

'Oh…uh, could the two of you stay here for a second, I have to see a friend about something…'

And with that, Sahria quickly exited the room, moving so suddenly and quickly that Yana and Chrom didn't have time to react before she had shut the door behind her.

'Hey, get back here, young lady!' Yana called after her, though she knew that her daughter was most likely already out of earshot.

'What the Naga was that about?' Chrom demanded.

Yana sighed. 'I have no idea, brother, but I promise that I'll get her to explain herself when we find her.'

'Well, let's not waste any time then!' Chrom suggested before leading the way out of his room.

'You know, you're taking this rather well,' Yana commented as they walked down the corridor in search of Sahria. 'Sahria being my daughter from the future, I mean.'

'When you've seen what I've seen you learn to keep it together as soon as you can,' the prince replied. 'And I've seen some really strange stuff lately! I mean, before I met you, I saw a cross-dressing girl and several monsters fall from the sky out of a…portal…'

Yana walked a few paces before she realised that her brother had come to a sudden stop.

'Chrom? Are you okay?' she asked as she back peddled and looked at Chrom in concern.

'Lucina…she was the girl that fell out of that portal…' Chrom whispered, dumbstruck. 'And if Sahria wanted her to be present when she explained why Naga had sent her to the past…and was surprised that Lucina hasn't spoken to me about something…'

Yana frowned for a moment before suddenly realising what Chrom was now beginning to suspect.

'Oh…Naga, you don't think Lucina…?'

()()()()()()()

As Yana and Chrom were beginning to close in on her secret, Lucina was currently training alone in an isolated courtyard of Ylisstol Palace. As she slashed at a training dummy, she heard footsteps quickly coming up behind her and whipped around, her Falchion at the ready. However, she lowered her sword in surprise when she saw Sahria, out of breath, skid to a halt in front of her.

'Sahria? What's wrong?' she asked, the bluenette's instincts immediately reacting to the look of panic on the manakete's face.

'L…Lucina…why haven't you…spoken to Chrom yet?' Sahria panted as she tried to catch her breath. 'About you being his daughter, I mean?'

Lucina grimaced embarrassedly. 'Oh…I er…well, I might have lost my nerve when I tried to gain the courage to do so…'

'Why? I thought we'd both decided to tell our parent who we are when we realised that we're in the same boat!' Sahria cried in frustration. 'I told mama…I mean Yana, and I just assumed that you did as well!'

'W…well I haven't!' Lucina stammered back. 'Besides, if you'd been paying attention you'd realised that I haven't even been around the barracks at all, let alone in my father's presence!'

'Hey, I've been getting to know my mama!' the manakete argued. 'It's not my fault that you chickened out from getting to know your own parents!'

'Why does this even matter?' Lucina demanded before a horrible thought struck her. 'Wait…you didn't tell him, did you?'

At this, Sahria guiltily looked down at her feet before mumbling, 'Not…not exactly…but I may have just implied it…'

'Why in the name of Naga would you do that?' Lucina cried in anger.

'Well…it turns out that since I've been spending so much time with Yana the other Shepherds thought that I was in a romantic relationship with her!' the manakete replied quickly, the pointed tip the ear that she usually tucked her hair behind going red with embarrassment. 'And Chrom was apparently told this so he confronted my mama about it and…and it kinda just went downhill from there!'

'Oh…um, I'm sorry to hear that,' Lucina mumbled, calming down as she patted the manakete on the shoulder awkwardly in sympathy. 'If I had known, I would probably have told you, but like I said I've been keeping myself isolated from the others.'

Sahria studied Lucina and then said, 'Been meaning to ask you about that; why HAVE you been keeping to yourself?'

Lucina sighed. 'Because I can't afford to get too attached to them, especially my parents!'

'Why not? I'm totally enjoying being with mine!' Sahria said.

'Because, once the threat of Grima is dealt with, I plan to go back to my own time!' Lucina snapped, cracking slightly under the persistent stare of the other girl.

The manakete seemed somewhat taken aback, both by the bluenette's words and the tone she had used to say them.

'Why would you do that?' she asked after a moment.

'Because I don't belong here!' Lucina declared, begging to pace in front of Sahria. 'Neither of us do! As much as we might want to stay, we shouldn't because sooner or later our younger selves will be born and our parents will be too busy looking after them! Why give them the added pressure of looking after US at the same time?' Lucina stopped pacing then, her back turned and her shoulder trembling as she tried to fight back the tears that threatened to spill down her face. 'Besides, it wouldn't be the same; while we were born to our parents, these people in this timeline _aren't_ them! They are just…strangers that look like the ones we lost…'

Sahria was quiet as she thought about Lucina's words. She then slowly shook her head and said, 'No…I think you're wrong, Lucina! While you're right that they aren't the parents that originally brought us into the world, they ARE still the people that will! It won't matter when they have their timeline's versions of us, the fact that they are STILL our parent's won't change!'

'But it'll be different for you either way, your father doesn't even exist in this timeline; you might not even be born because of it!' Lucina blurted out before clapping a hand to her mouth and turning around to see that the manakete's face had quickly gained a hurt look. 'Sahria…I…I didn't mean…'

Sahria gulped and pushed down the sudden feeling of anger that had flared up at the future princess's words.

'That…that might be true…' she mumbled, looking down. 'I might not be born in this timeline, but I still know that THIS Yana is still my mama! Even if she never finds love in this timeline, I will always stay by her side!'

'But…you ARE a manakete…' Lucina pointed out softly. 'No matter what you promise, you WILL outlive Yana and…'

The bluenette then recoiled when she felt Sahria suddenly slap her full across the cheek. As she put a shocked hand to her face, she saw that for the first time she had known her, the manakete looked genuinely angry.

'Don't you think I know that, Lucina?!' Sahria growled as her body trembled with suppressed emotions. 'I know that I'll outlive EVERYONE I'll ever love, that I'll have to watch them wither and die! But you know what? Instead of distancing myself from them, I'll at least make the effort to spend as much time with them and give them as much of my love as I possibly can!' She glared at Lucina. 'At least YOU will never have to go through the heartache that I'm going to inevitably suffer!'

'Sahria…I never meant…' Lucina whispered, her lower lip trembling. 'I never wanted to…'

'Just…just promise me that you'll consider staying after all of this is done…' Sahria snapped. 'Promise me that you'll try and spend more time with them before any of you die!' She put a hand on the bluenette's shoulder as she stared into her eyes. 'Promise me!'

'I…I promise…' Lucina replied, voice thick with emotion. 'And I am truly sorry for my insensitive words…'

Seeing how upset Lucina was, Sahria began to feel guilty.

'No, I should apologise for shouting at you,' she mumbled. 'Er…sorry for slapping you as well…'

Lucina smiled slightly as she wiped her eyes. 'No, you were in the right for that,' she admitted. 'In fact, everything you've said was right; I shouldn't have been considering leaving without even trying to know my parents.' She then grimaced. 'I actually don't even know if I would even be able to return to my own timeline now that I think about it.'

Sahria giggled reluctantly. 'Nah, I'm sure Naga would be able to swing it for you.'

The two girls laughed together then, not noticing Yana and Chrom approaching them until the prince cleared his throat. At the sound, the two girls jumped and quickly looked around, faces going pale when they saw who was now present.

'Interrupting something, are we?' Chrom asked, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.

'Oh, crap…' Sahria stammered, looking guiltily at her mother.

'So…want to explain yourselves, young lady?' the cleric asked severely.

Lucina sighed as the manakete put hand to her face in embarrassment.

()()()()()()()()

'Well? We've waited patiently for nearly an hour now,' Chrom suddenly burst out, drumming his fingers impatiently on the table that he was sitting at.

After finding the two girls, Chrom and his twin had marched them both back to the prince's room where they had then sat them on his bed and waited for an explanation for Sahria's slip of the tongue. They hadn't counted, however, on the two girls being so nervous that they weren't able to say anything for quite some time.

'Sahria, you aren't in trouble,' Yana put in, sitting down next to her daughter and putting a comforting arm around her. 'So please, just tell us what's going on.'

The manakete shared a look with Lucina, who sighed after a moment before standing up and going to stand before Chrom, who was still sitting in his chair.

'Do you…do you really want to know?' she asked nervously. Chrom looked directly at her and nodded. 'Alright…first, I need you to stand up, it'll be easier this way.'

'Okay…but what's going to be easier?' Chrom asked uncertainly as he got to his feet.

'Looking into my eye,' Lucina explained softly and pointed at her left iris. 'You will find the answer to your question there…'

Chrom frowned and leaned forward to look into Lucina's left eye. For a second, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary until, much like Yana had when she had seen Sahria's, saw the Brand of the Exalt imprinted in the well of blue that he stared into.

'Is that…?' he breathed, not believing what he was seeing even as he looked closer. 'Is that the Brand of the Exalt?!'

'Y…yes…' Lucina mumbled, tears beginning to well in her eyes and obscuring the brand. 'And…and I also have this…' Here, she held up her version of Falchion, unsheathing it so that Chrom could see that it was an exact replica of his own. 'This was…the only thing I have of yours from the timeline I come from…'

Lucina's father stared at her before he slowly, instinctively, drew her close and embraced her tenderly.

'Lucina…you…I don't know how this is possible, but…' Chrom whispered softly in her ear. 'I cannot ignore the evidence in front of me…' He then ended the embrace and held her at arm's length, taking in every detail of her face and now seeing small similarities between it and his own features. 'Lucina…you're MY daughter from the future, aren't you?'

Instead of responding, Lucina's lower lip trembled before she burst into tears and flung her arms around the man she had longed to embrace ever since she had seen him sitting in the arena of Regna Ferox.

As Chrom slowly stroked the long blue hair of his daughter, Yana smiled tearfully at the scene before her, her arms around her own daughter.

'You should have said something sooner, if you knew,' she commented to the manakete after a moment. 'We might have been able to enjoy this much more sooner if you had!'

'Sorry, mama, we just…we just didn't really know how to tell you and Uncle Chrom,' Sahria sniffed, leaning into her mother's embrace.

Hearing the manakete's words, Chrom suddenly jerked and looked quickly in her direction.

'Oh gods…I'm an uncle already?' he said, slightly horrified at the prospect.

'Technically, I guess…' Sahria began before Lucina looked warningly at her over her father's shoulder, shaking her head to signal to her to stop speaking.

Unfortunately, Chrom had already registered the new slip of Sahria's tongue and frowned.

'Technically? What do you mean by that?'

Lucina sighed, seeing that her father would not be persuaded, and decided to take control of the conversation.

'Father…perhaps you should sit down again?' she suggested. 'We might be here for some time…'

()()()()()()()()

Silence reigned in Chrom's room as all those present sat, not speaking or even moving, after Lucina and Sahria had finished speaking.

'Well…that's….that's quite a lot to take in…' Chrom said, letting out a breath he hadn't known he had been holding. 'Emmeryn dying and the Felldragon Grima returning in both of your timelines…it's a lot to take in…' He then grimaced. 'Though I'm slightly more disconcerted that all of us died and only Yana and Robin survived in yours, Sahria.'

'Trust me, I'm here to make sure that never happens!' the manakete replied from where she was now standing next to Lucina. 'And it seems this timeline already differs, in that Grima hasn't actually woken up yet. I'll take that as a good first step if it's all the same to you guys.'

Lucina smiled. 'I too am both gladdened and surprised that we managed to save Exalt Emmeryn. This means that the future may very well turn out a lot better than either of ours ever could have.'

'Know that we know what's going to happen, at least from you Lucina your timeline seems a lot more similar to the current one than Sahria's, we'll hopefully be able to make that happen,' Chrom replied. The prince then got to his feet and hugged his future daughter fiercely. 'Lucina…I'm sorry that I apparently left you alone in your future. You deserved far more from me than a sword and a broken kingdom.'

'Father…this moment right now is all the apology I could ever need...' Lucina said softly, returning her father's embrace.

The moment between father and daughter was suddenly then interrupted by the door to Chrom's room opening without warning and Robin stepped inside, looking down at piece of paper while carrying a bundle of others under her arms.

'Hey, honey, I was wondering if you could help me with some of this paperwork,' she said, not looking up even as she walked right past where Chrom was standing, frozen, still embracing Lucina. 'Seriously, as much as I love you, you can't just leave me with all of this…' It was when she had put the papers down on the prince's desk that Robin finally looked up and saw Chrom, an awkward look on his face, with his arms wrapped around Lucina. 'Wait…what the hell…?'

'Ah…Robin…' Chrom said, quickly releasing Lucina and stepping away from her. 'Now, I know that this looks bad…'

'Chrom…if you were getting bored with me, you could've just said something,' Robin replied shortly, a hurt look on her face. 'I mean…I wouldn't have minded if you had. I like Lucina so if you want to be with her instead of me…'

'What? Gods no, Robin, no!' Chrom hurriedly protested. 'No, Lucina…I mean, my relationship with her did just change quite drastically, but not in the way that you think!' He then gestured at Yana and Sahria. 'Besides, do you really think I'd hug a woman I was cheating on you with in the presence of my own twin sister and her daughter?'

'So you'd cheat on me otherwise?' Robin snapped before the last thing Chrom had said registered with her. 'Wait…DAUGHTER?'

Chrom cringed and went silent so Lucina decided to come to her father's rescue.

'Um, Lady Robin, I can personally attest to Chrom's fidelity towards you,' she said hurriedly. 'And as for Sahria being Yana's daughter…the fact is that she came from the future where Yana gave birth to her.' Here, she took a breath before continuing. 'In fact, she and I are BOTH from the future…and I am Chrom's daughter…' She looked down shyly at her feet then. 'And…and yours…'

A dumbstruck look appeared on the tactician's face as she looked quickly at the prince, who nodded weakly. Clearing her throat nervously, Lucina then stepped forward and pointed at her left eye where the brand was.

'Here, I will show you the same proof that I showed father,' she said and leaned forward so that Robin could get a clear view of the brand.

'Holy Naga…!' Robin breathed when she saw the brand. 'That's…that's the brand, isn't it?'

'Yes, Robin, yes it is,' Chrom replied, now moving forward so that he could squeeze Robin's slack hand. 'And that means that she is our daughter…isn't that great?'

An odd emotion appeared on the tactician's face as she reached up slowly and mirrored Chrom's earlier action as she stroked Lucina's cheek gently.

'You…you really are our daughter, aren't you?' she said softly, a small smile tugging at the edges of her lips.

'Yes, Lady Robin…I am,' Lucina sniffed, her eyes tearing up again at her mother's touch.

''Lady' Robin, huh?' Robin commented, frowning slightly. 'Not mother or something?'

'Oh…I just assumed that you wouldn't want me to call you mother…' Lucina replied uncertainly.

'Come on, Lucina, why wouldn't she want you to call her that?' Sahria asked loudly then, cutting off Robin's reply. 'I mean, I call my mama 'mama' and she likes it…' She glanced at the cleric in question. 'Right…?'

Yana smiled. 'Yes, sweetie, of course I do.'

'Right, there you go!' the manakete continued triumphantly. 'Now why don't you give calling Robin 'mother' a go?'

'Alright, alright, just stop embarrassing me!' Lucina pleaded before turning back to Robin, her cheeks flushed. 'Um…may I have the honour of calling you…mother, Lady Robin?'

'Of course you can, silly!' Robin laughed. 'Now come here so that I can hug you!'

With that, Lucina smiled warmly and returned the tight embrace that Robin now gave her. As she did, Chrom shook his head and sat down next to his twin.

'Well…I get the feeling that life around here is going to get a lot more hectic,' he commented. 'Especially with what we know about what's coming in the next few years.'

'Yes…but with their help, we'll be ready for whatever comes,' his sister replied.

'That we will…'

 **Three weeks/ 2 Days-**

 **-Researcher and the Beast -**

Miriel was sitting alone in the mess hall of the Shepherds' barracks when Vaike suddenly barged into the room. The shirtless man looked around, eventually noticing the mage when his eyes reached the spot where she reading.

'Yo, Miriel, have you seen anyone, specifically Chrom?' the man asked loudly as he walked over to her.

Miriel tsked in annoyance as she looked up. 'Negative, but I believe that our commander is currently spending his time socializing with his future family.'

After discovering that Lucina and Sahria were both from the future and that they were related to him, Chrom hadn't wasted much time and had gone to tell Emmeryn about the development. When Lissa, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation, had then burst into the room and put Chrom on the spot by demanding to know if he was telling the truth, the prince had had no choice but to confirm it. A few hours later, despite Emmeryn's cautionary words about keeping their secret, Chrom had reintroduced both Lucina and Sahria.

When the anticipated chaos at the announcement had died down, Chrom had then turned serious and explained why the two girls travelled back from the future: to prevent Valm from invading Ylisse and, ultimately, stopping Grima from being resurrected.

Chrom had then taken Miriel aside and asked her to begin researching all that she could about Grima, the Grimleal and anything else concerning the Felldragon; it was a request that Miriel took to heart and had spent the following week going through every single book that she could find that referenced the ancient enemy of Ylisse, no matter how small.

Unfortunately, she had hit an unforseen dead-end; when she had attempted to find out about Grima's origins, she discovered to her irritation that there seemed to be no clear records concerning that.

Her current mood was now becoming even more stormy at the loud interruption that she was currently trying to encourage away.

'I have given you a clue as to where Chrom is, so I would appreciate it if you will now leave me to my business,' Miriel continued, looking back down at her books but gritting her teeth when Vaike instead sat down opposite her.

'Hey, whatcha doing here all alone anyway?' the fighter asked, reaching for one of the books that were stacked beside the mage but having his had slapped away.

'If you must know, I am attempting to research and discover all that I can about Grima,' the mage replied shortly. 'And I would prefer to do it in peace.'

'Bah, I find that I get things done when there's more hands on board!' Vaike scoffed, quickly reaching out and dragging a book towards him before Miriel could protest.

'While I don't doubt your abilities on the battlefield, I DO doubt your ability to focus on such complicated word structures that are to be found within the confines of that text!' Miriel snapped as she leant forward and attempted to wrest the book away from Vaike.

'Not sure exactly what you just said, but the Vaike don't care!' Vaike said stubbornly, holding the book out of the reach of the mage, who gave up after a few seconds. 'You look like you need the company anyway, so Teach is here to give it to ya!'

'I am NOT, as you say, in need of any kind of company!' the mage sighed as she sat back. 'But if you really must continue with your current course of action, then please at least do it in silence.'

'Sure thing, Miriel,' Vaike promised and proceeded to open the book.

However, only a few seconds later the fighter snorted in disgust and loudly tossed the book back onto the table, causing Miriel to glare at the man.

'What did I just tell you, you troglodyte?' she snapped.

'Eh, what does trogli…whatever mean?' Vaike asked, scratching his head.

Miriel rolled her eyes and sighed. 'It means that I am about to see how a man with no shirt reacts to having electricity course through his body if he doesn't leave within the next ten seconds!'

'Er, the Vaike suddenly remembered that he…needs to go an flex in front of a mirror!' Vaike said hurriedly, quickly getting up and running out of the building.

As silence once again returned to the room, Miriel sighed in satisfaction and, adjusting her glasses into a more comfortable position, returned to her research.

 **Two Months/2 Weeks-**

 **-A Villager's fantastic Knight-**

Kari let out a satisfied sigh as she fell back onto the bed sheets, Stahl collapsing next to her.

'Wow…for someone who claims to be just an average guy, you sure don't act like one,' she commented breathlessly, snuggling against the knight's body as he put an arm around her.

'To…to be fair, I just laid there and let you take control,' Stahl replied, kissing the top of the mass of purple hair of the woman beside him. 'Wouldn't exactly say that that warrants such praise.'

'Hey, don't sell yourself short, mister!' Kari teased playfully, kissing the knight's neck briefly. 'I wouldn't have performed as well as I did if I hadn't felt sufficiently motivated to.'

Stahl went quiet for a moment before asking, hesitantly, 'Kari…I've been meaning to ask…I'm not just someone that you're only using for sexual pleasure…am I?'

Kari looked up at him, surprised at the question. 'Why are you asking that?'

The knight fumbled to find the right words before saying, 'Well…over these past few weeks that we've been together, I've found myself…thinking about you more whenever we're not in each other's company.' He cleared his throat. 'In fact, there are times when I need to 'relieve' myself when I find myself thinking about you.'

Kari blushed when she realised what Stahl was trying to say.

'Stahl…are you…have you fallen for me?' she asked, not daring to look at the man she was currently nakedly sharing a bad with.

Now that the words had been said, Stahl knew that there was no turning back.

'Yes, that's exactly what I meant,' he said, coughing awkwardly.

The purple haired woman was silent for so long following his declaration that Stahl was worried she was about to say something harsh. However, when he peeked down at her, he was startled to see that she had tears in her eyes.

'Woah, are you okay?' he asked hurriedly, putting his other arm around her and hugging the former villager.

'Yeah…I'm just still feeling emotional from the activity were just involved in,' Kari joked weakly.

'Kari…'

'Okay, fine…I guess that I'm just happy…' the woman admitted, looking embarrassed as she buried her head against Stahl's chest. 'If I'm going to be honest…I may have started to fall for you too…and not just because of the sex.'

Stahl grinned, silently happy at the woman's confession. 'I suppose that's a good thing; I'd hate to think that you only liked me for my virility!'

Kari sniggered. 'But you definitely won't complain about it, will you?' she said slyly as she began to kiss Stahl's neck sensually and rubbed her body against his.

'Nope, definitely not!'

With that, the knight grabbed her and, rolling her over onto her back, grinned at her again before leaning down to meet the kiss that the villager hungrily pressed onto him.

'Thought not!' she whispered when she briefly pulled away.

Giggling, Kari wrapped her arms around the knight's neck and allowed the knight to then take control of the situation for the first time since they had begun to sleep together.

 **Two months/4 Weeks-**

 **-My Name-**

Libra was kneeling in supplication at the base of the statue of Naga in the temple dedicated to her when he heard someone sit down on one of the many benches and begin to mutter a prayer. Looking over his shoulder, he saw that it was one of the clerics that he had seen whenever he was at the temple, an attractive red head whose name he had discovered was Lilah.

Returning to his prayers, he soon finished and, after giving one last thanks to the silent statue of his deity, got to his feet and stretched.

'Greetings, Libra, tis good to see you,' Lilah's voice said suddenly from behind him; the cleric, having finished her own prayers, had silently approached the priest when she saw that he had completed his business.

'Yes, it is good to see you too, Sister Lilah,' the long haired man smiled.

'I hope that you are settling well into your new life here in Ylisstol,' the buxom woman asked then, joining Libra as he made his way through the massive church. 'I also hope you are not feeling too lonely here, what with you being the only survivor of your previous order here in the capitol?'

Libra sighed. 'I will admit, there have been a few times over the last few months that I have felt the loss of my friends.' He then smiled to reassure Lilah, who had opened her mouth to apologise for bringing up his dead comrades. 'But then I remember them when they were alive and that has allowed me to slowly move on. While I will always mourn them somewhat, they would not want me to let their deaths consume me as well.'

'Well said, Libra,' Lila commented and nodded. 'Indeed, I employ a similar strategy whenever I find my thoughts straying to those that died on the day of Rielet's destruction; tis certainly better to remember them as they were, as you say.'

'I am glad to hear that, Sister Lilah,' Libra replied.

Lilah frowned then. 'Libra, how many times have I told you that I would prefer it if you simply referred to me by my first name, and do not include my title?'

The blonde man nervously looked around before saying, 'But is that not a tad forward?'

Lilah sighed. 'Truly, you are a most frustrating man at times, Libra!' She put her hands on her hips as she stood in front of him. 'Do not I refer to you by your first name? The least you could do is extend to me the same courtesy!'

'Apologies…' Libra mumbled. 'I shall…try to endeavour to call you Lilah from now on.'

'Good, there may be hope for you yet!' Lilah laughed.

The two members of the church smiled at each other before continuing on their way, simply enjoying each other's company as they made their way through the church.

 **-A Young Mage's Dilemma-**

'For Naga's sake, Ricken, could you please stay still!' Verity sighed as her patient again fidgeted as she attempted to press a cold cloth against his arm.

'Sorry Verity, it's just that the cloth is so cold!' the young mage grimaced before forcing himself to stay in place.

'That's the point!' the youngest cleric of the three from Rielet sighed sarcastically. 'What possessed you to try and combine a wind spell with a flame spell and then let Miriel throw the result at you?'

'Well…it worked back in Plegia!' Ricken argued, forcing himself not to flinch when he felt the wet cloth touch his skin again.

'In case you hadn't noticed, you aren't IN Plegia anymore!' the cleric snapped, holding the cloth in place and glaring pointedly at the mage.

'So? What does that have anything?' Ricken snapped back.

'Because I'M here, you absolute fool!' Verity cried. 'And in case you'd forgotten, I'm now your fiancée!'

Ricken went silent when he saw that Verity was genuinely upset.

'S…sorry…' he eventually mumbled. 'I keep forgetting that you actually said yes…'

Ricken and the young Rielet cleric, after having spent almost most of the time after he had escorted Verity and the other survivors to Ylisstol, had quickly fallen in love with each other. It had helped that Ricken had been a constant source of comfort for the then distraught Verity, always willing to talk and listen to the young cleric's woes, while Ricken found himself charmed by the beautiful woman.

Then, when it was found out that Chrom would be taking all of the Shepherds with him to Plegia, Verity had panicked and had turned up at Ricken's room the night before they were to march out. After tearfully attempting to persuade Ricken to ask to stay back, she had blurted out that she had gained strong feelings for the young mage, to which Ricken had responded by immediately grabbing her and drawing her into a very awkward, but enjoyable, kiss. When they broke apart, he convinced the cleric that he would be fine and to wait for him to return, a request that Verity had reluctantly agreed to.

To say that Verity had been overjoyed when Ricken had returned, albeit slightly injured, was an understatement. The moment they had been allowed a moment of privacy, she had thrown herself onto her young mage and showered him with kisses, though had refrained from taking things further when she had realised that Ricken was very sore from his ordeal.

After several weeks of absolute bliss, Ricken had finally decided to take the risk and, after somehow managing to measure the cleric's ring finger when she was sleeping next to him one night without waking her up, he had settled on a plain but still beautiful gold banded engagement ring. A week later, during which he tried to muster all of his courage, he finally offered the ring to Verity and asked her to marry him.

Quite obviously, the young cleric had been absolutely overjoyed and had immediately said yes and the following day the Shepherds noticed that Ricken was walking slightly awkwardly; after putting on the ring Verity had quite deliberately locked the door to the room she and Ricken shared and had pushed him towards the bed.

Suffice it to say, that night she made him finally feel like a man, despite her apparent vows to the church that he had weakly tried to remind her of and to which she had studiously ignored.

Now however, Verity was feeling very frustrated towards the man she had pledged to marry. She had been quite horrified when she had stumbled on her fiancé standing a little way down a patch of grass with his arms out just as Miriel had shot the combined wind and fire spell in his direction. Seeing her lover then roll around as he tried to put out the fire that was consuming his left arm while Miriel simply jotted down her observations, Verity had run over and used the young mage's wizard hat to beat out the fire. Finally, after yelling at Ricken with angry tears in her eyes, she had marched him forcefully to her room in one of the inns that were in the capitol and tried to heal him to the best of her ability.

'Ricken, when are you going to realise that I am always going to worry about you from now on?' the cleric sighed now. 'What kind of cleric, and for that matter WIFE, would I be if I didn't?'

'I know…and really, I am sorry,' Ricken replied, trying to mimic Chrom and attempting to smile disarmingly at his fiancée; Verity merely raised an unimpressed eyebrow in response. 'What if I promised not to do it again?'

'What if I told you that I don't believe you?' Verity snapped back. She then calmed herself down and continued. 'Look, I know that you feel like you need to prove yourself, but let me be the first one to tell you that you really don't have to! Certainly not to me!'

'But how will I be able to call myself your husband if I DON'T take the odd risk every now and then?' Ricken argued.

Verity rolled her eyes. 'Ricken, letting Miriel shoot a combination spell at you isn't taking a simple risk, its suicide! You know how powerful she is, even with lower level spells!'

Ricken slumped, realising that he wasn't winning the argument any time soon. Seeing this, Verity pressed home her point.

'And if you die, what good will the promises we made to each other that night do?' she pointed out, lifting up her left hand and letting the ring attached to her ring finger glitter in the light. 'Would you really want to make me a widow before I even have the chance to be a wife to you?'

Looking at the ring now, and glancing down at the matching one on his own finger, Ricken finally gave in.

'Alright, I can tell that there's no way I can win this argument!' he sighed. 'From now in Verity, I promise not to do anything stupid like that again!'

'Good, glad that I was able to get through that thick headed skull of yours!' Verity smirked. She then playfully bumped her shoulder against Ricken's. 'By the way, what made you think that you had any chance of winning an argument against me in the first place?'

Ricken grinned. 'Well, YOU certainly weren't winning the night I proposed!' he said, thinking that he was at least going to have the last word.

His hopes were dashed when Verity giggled.

'Oh, my poor sweet mage…who do you think let you do all those things to me in the first place?' She playfully poked Ricken on the nose. 'I may have technically been part of the church, but I'll let you in on a little secret that only Yana, Kari and Lilah know…' Here, she leaned in and whispered seductively in the young mage's ear. _'I never actually completed my formal training to be a cleric, nor did I ever take any vow of chastity…just the basic ones...'_

Ricken went silent as Verity chuckled at his expression and continued to treat the wound that her fiancé could have easily avoided had he been slightly smarter with his life choices.

 **Three Months/ 3 Weeks-**

 **-Her father's Stalker-**

Nowi sniffed the air when she sensed the dark presence she had been sensing for the past few weeks. After a few seconds of sniffing, she finally recognised the scent that reached her nose as belonging to the strange dark mage that had returned with them from Plegia.

'Hey, scary lady, why are you hiding behind that barrel?' the small manakete asked curiously, surprising Tharja by suddenly poking her head over the top of the barrel that the dark mage was crouched behind.

'Nothing,' the Plegian muttered, avoiding the manakete's stare. When Nowi persisted, she sighed and said, 'Fine…I've been trying to figure out why you feel like Raye…'

'Huh? What do you mean 'feel'?' Nowi asked, tilting her head in confusion.

'You have an aura almost identical as _his_ …'

Nowi frowned for a moment before smiling widely. 'Oh, that's probably cos I'm his precious little girl!'

Tharja's eye twitched when she mistook what the manakete had meant. ''Little girl'?' she growled.

'Yeah, I'm his darling little daughter!' Nowi pronounced proudly, striking a pose that seemed like an attempt at one of Raye's combat stances.

The dark mage blinked, the dark wisps of shadows that had begun to surround her right hand slowly dissipating. 'You're his…daughter…?' she repeated uncertainly.

The small manakete nodded happily. 'Yep! Raye's my papa and Aurora's my mother!'

At the mention of Nowi's mother, Tharja's eye once again twitched. 'So…this Aurora woman is Raye…wife?'

Nowi shook her head, now slightly less enthusiastic about the conversation. 'No…he wasn't around when I was born and mother died before she could find him.'

'Oh…' Tharja muttered, slightly awkward now. 'Er…sorry to hear that, I guess?' She cringed when she said that, but Nowi didn't notice.

'Thanks, scary lady!' the manakete smiled brightly and making the dark mage recoil from the sight of it. 'Y'know, you're not as creepy as the others say you are!'

This new piece of information made Tharja narrow her eyes. 'People say I'm creepy, do they? Who?'

Nowi suddenly became uncomfortable as the air seemed to get several degrees cooler. 'Er…no one in particular,' she said evasively. 'Not me, though, I would never think that of anyone!'

'Hmm…you're lucky that I'm feeling rather generous today,' Tharja replied darkly. She then turned on her heel and stalked away. 'Towards you, anyway,' she muttered under her breath, a wicked smile on her face as she made her way towards the barracks. 'I doubt that my love would appreciate it if his daughter came down with a sudden fever…'

With a cackle, Tharja left behind a slightly disconcerted Nowi, who waited until the dark mage was out of both sight and earshot before letting out a relieved sigh.

'Papa…please come back soon…' she mumbled to herself.

()()()()()()()

 _And with that, the second chapter of the two year gap concludes._

 _Hopefully, this will shed some light on the personalities of the Rielet survivors, who I've decided will actually have some part in the story, if only to bring in three more OCs, those being three completely new future children that will actually come from Morgan's (spoilers there)._

 _As for the interaction between the members of Ylisse's royal family, how do you feel about the fact that Lucina was basically forced into telling Chrom and Robin the truth about her lineage after Sahria's slip of the tongue? Hopefully it was done in such a way as to be believable._

 _Finally, Nowi better watch her back, because it seems that Tharja will be taking much more of an interest in her, what with our favourite loli dragon girl (of this franchise anyway) being the daughter of the man she is holding quite the torch for._

 _Ciao for now!_


	25. Chapter 21

_Just quickly jumping in to explain something that I probably should have in the first part of this mini arc: the timeframes that you will be seeing (e.g Two Weeks/3 Days or Three Months/3 Weeks) refer to the week/month since the arc started and the day/week into that month that a particular event may occur. Basically, think about them as being akin to timestamps on a YouTube video, with it eventually reaching two years._

 _Anyway, back to the story…_

()()()()()()()

-Chapter 21- Peace in the Interim Part Three-

 **-Six Months/2 Weeks-**

 **-Season of Marriages Part One-**

To the surprise of all the Shepherds, the very first couple to be married was one they had not expected, nor even known had even been a thing in the first place: Cordelia and Frederick. According to Lissa, who had immediately interrogated the red headed pegasus knight mere minutes after the unexpected couple had announced their engagement several weeks ago, Cordelia and the usually stoic great knight had actually secretly been a couple for several years prior. Again, according to Cordelia, the great knight had proposed completely out of the blue, his heart having almost broken when he had first seen her in such a traumatising position at the Plegian ruined capitol.

After having returned to Ylisstol, Frederick had then taken her to one side and, showing more emotion than he had ever done before, surprised Cordelia by getting down on one knee and asking for her hand in marriage. Cordelia, understandably needing a moment, had then jokingly asked where an actual ring was since Frederick had proposed without a ring at the time. The knight had then explained that, having known true fear for the first time at the thought of losing her, he had needed ask her, even if he hadn't necessarily planned to do so as sudden as he had.

Hearing that, Cordelia had burst into tears and had immediately accepted the great knight's proposal, with the loving couple deciding on tying the knot when Cordelia was fully healed. And so it was that, six months and two weeks later, they officially became husband and wife and started an avalanche of similar events amongst the Shepherds when the various couples that had formed took after their example.

The next couple to get hitched were, again a very unexpected thing, was the usually isolated Panne and the fun loving mercenary Gregor. This time though, there was also another reason for the pair to join together: the Taguel, beaming for the first time since she had joined the Shepherds, was pregnant. Gregor, equally as proud, had been the very picture of happiness when he had stood next to Panne on their wedding day.

Third in line in this season of happiness, the couple that many feared the ramifications of their union, was Donnel and Nowi. Many of the Shepherds had stared at the young villager when he had proudly announced his engagement to the daughter of perhaps the most terrifying member of the Shepherds, including Tharja, and then immediately demanded how the hell that had happened.

It was Nowi who happily explained that one day about a month after Raye and Tiki had left, when she had been feeling especially down about her father's continued absence, had come across Donnel sitting by himself in a field outside of Ylisstol and simply staring up at the sky. Naturally being curious, Nowi had asked what he was doing and when he had said that he was just enjoying the breeze on his skin and nature in general, she had smiled and asked to join him, feeling the need for some company. From there, the two younger members of the Shepherds, at least physically in Nowi's case, had started to spend more and more time together before Nowi, tackling Donnel a few weeks ago, had demanded that the villager ask her to marry her.

'Bu…but what about yer pa?' the young man had asked, understandably nervous.

Nowi had then waved away his concerns. 'Papa will totally be happy for me!' she had declared. 'Besides, he isn't here to say tell us not to!'

Privately, Donnel had thought that he would need to hide as soon as the formidable father of his soon to be wife returned, but in that moment he decided to push such thoughts out of his mind and simply enjoy the kisses that Nowi showered onto his face.

And then yelp when she began to go lower.

Only a few weeks after the villager and the manakete had been married, there was one final couple for the first two months of what would soon be known as the 'Season of Marriages'.

That couple was the Shepherds own commander and their tactician.

 **Seven Months/4 Weeks-**

 **-How I proposed to your mother-**

Chrom nervously looked around as he snuck into the Shepherds' mess hall, making completely sure that there was no one inside before he went in. He then casually walked over to a window and whistled just as casually. A moment later, Gaius's head appeared at the window, a disgruntled look on his face.

'Ya know Blue, if you needed a ring for Snowtop then why the hell don't you get one yourself?' he sighed as he handed the prince a small box.

'Because if I went into a jewellery store and asked to look at engagement rings, rumours would inevitable start to spread and word might even reach Robin,' Chrom replied, nodding at the former thief and thanking him. 'This way, I can still get a ring for her while not letting anything ruin the surprise.'

'How did you even manage to get the exact measurements that you needed?' Gaius asked curiously.

'Held her hand long enough and massaged her fingers so that I was able to make an educated guess,' Chrom replied smugly.

Gaius looked impressed as he said, 'Pretty devious, Blue! Enjoy it, cos that's probably the only time you'll ever have one over on our tactician!'

'Thank you Gaius, I intend to!'

With that, the two men parted ways.

()()()()()()()

As Gaius ambled around the city, he found to his surprise Yana browsing through the market. His surprise was caused by the fact that, for the first time in several months, he didn't see any sign of the cleric's future daughter.

Tapping her on the shoulder and causing her to turn around, he grinned and said, 'Yo, Bubbles, odd to see you all alone!'

'Oh, hello Sugar,' the cleric smiled, making the ginger haired man raise his eyebrow.

''Sugar'?' he smirked.

Yana blushed. 'Sorry, it's just that you gave everyone else nicknames I thought that it might have been nice for you to have one as well…'

'Ah, I see!' Gaius laughed, falling into step beside her as she resumed moving around the various stalls. 'But 'Sugar'? Too simple for such a complicated man like me, Bubbles!' He then smirked again. 'And people might get the wrong idea if you started calling me that in public!'

'Yeah well…maybe I don't care?' Yana replied teasingly, bumping her hip against Gaius to show that she was joking.

'Sure, whatever you say, Princess Bubbles!'

Yana grimaced. 'Oh Naga, please don't call me that! Bubbles is fine, but adding a princess to it just makes me feel weird!'

Gaius chuckled. 'Fine, stifle my creativity!' He then adjusted the lollipop in his mouth before continuing. 'Anyway, why ain't your daughter with you?'

'Oh, she said that she and Lucina had planned to spend some time together today,' Yana replied, shrugging. 'Since I had nothing else to do because of that I decided to see what Ylisstol has to offer other than the temple.'

'Want some company then?' Gaius asked smoothly. 'I could help you come up with a nickname for me at the same time.'

'With an offer like that, how could I refuse?' Yana laughed and, now with the sugar addicted ginger by her side, continued on her way.

()()()()()()()()()

Now that he had the engagement ring for Robin, Chrom was currently hyperventilating as he found himself trying to muster up the courage to go through with asking her to marry him.

'Come on Chrom!' he muttered to himself, opening up the small box for the third time in as many minutes and looking at the beautiful ruby encrusted ring that had a diamond as the centrepiece. 'You love her, for Naga's sake! It shouldn't be this hard!'

Snapping the box shut again, he walked forward a few paces before his knees buckled and he was forced to sit down on a nearby bench.

'You are a MAN!' he growled to himself as he sat there. 'No, you are THE man! HER man! The man that loves the fact that she loves him as her man! Wait…what?' He shook his head to clear his thoughts. 'In any case Chrom, you seriously need to get yourself together!'

As he slapped his face a couple of times to help him focus, he froze when he saw the object of his current nervousness appear. Robin had her head buried in the pages of book and so didn't notice the fact that her prince was watching her make her way across the courtyard.

Nor did she notice the fact that she was walking straight towards a bench, only moving on autopilot with the aid of the confines of the corridors. Without the guiding lines of said corridors, the tactician, before Chrom could let out a shout of warning, inevitable tripped over the bench and was sent sprawling onto her chest on the grass behind it.

'Ow…Naga's tits that hurts!' Chrom heard the tactician hiss as she sat up.

'Are you alright?' the prince asked in concern as he rushed over and helped her to her feet.

'Chrom? Were you here for that?' Robin asked after brushing herself off and looking narrowly at the prince. 'If you were why didn't you say anything?'

'Er…I was entranced by your beauty?' Chrom replied weakly.

Robin shook her head in amusement. 'Easy, big boy; don't forget that we're currently in public!'

'So? We've already announced the fact that we're together months ago!' Chrom teased, relieved that his love was unhurt.

'Fair point,' Robin admitted before winding her arms around the prince's neck and standing on the tips of her toes so that she could gently kiss the prince on the mouth.

Briefly returning the kiss, Chrom then pulled away and cleared his throat.

'Actually Robin, it's a good thing that you're here…' he said, suddenly nervous again as he realised that this could possibly be the best chance he had to achieve his objective. 'I, ah, needed to ask you about something…'

'Oh?' the tactician asked, frowning and tilting her head in curiosity. 'You better not be about to ask me to do more paperwork! If you are, let me make it clear that you will be sleeping alone tonight; I'm already swamped enough as it is!'

Chrom put up his hands in assurance. 'No, nothing like that I promise! In fact, you may very well enjoy this!'

'Alright…so what is it?' Robin prodded impatiently after Chrom had been silent for several minutes following his statement.

'Er…I…well, that is to say…' Chrom stammered, his courage quickly draining away as he looked into the beautiful brown eyes of the woman he loved with all his heart. 'I…I…' Scrambling for the right words to say, he unintentionally blurted out, 'I am, like, SUPER aroused right now!'

Robin's eyebrows shot upwards and she carefully studied the prince, even as he cringed away from her judging eyes.

'Er…is that so?' she asked slowly, her eyes reflexively flicking down and looking briefly at Chrom's crotch. 'Well…I can't say that it hasn't been a while since we last had sex, but I don't think that Emmeryn or the council would appreciate it if we ended up making love in quite a public area like this one.'

As if to emphasis her point, and much to Chrom's horror, Lucina and Sahria appeared then, giggling and whispering to each other. When the two girls saw the prince and his tactician lover, they stopped short.

'Oh, mother…father…I did not expect to see you here,' Lucina commented, blushing slightly as she quickly let go of the manakete's hand that the two older Shepherds hadn't noticed she had been holding. 'We were just…making our way to the library…'

'Yep, I need her to help me found out some stuff about divine dragons and such,' Sahria put in, smoothly covering for the awkwardness that Lucina was trying to hide. 'You know, since we now have three of them currently part of the Shepherds.' The manakete then cocked her head at the embarrassed look that Chrom was also exhibiting. 'Anyway, what's going on here?'

'Nothing, Chrom was just telling me an amusing joke,' Robin quickly replied.

This was, however, apparently the wrong thing to say, judging by the interested look that the energetic manakete now gained.

'Ooo, I love a good joke!' Sahria said eagerly. 'Care to share?'

Chrom put a hand to his face and groaned. 'No, sorry, it was more of an ADULT joke…probably shouldn't share it with you because of that.'

'Aw, come on Uncle Chrom!' Sahria whined pleadingly. 'Me and Lucina are practically adults now anyway!'

'What have I told you about calling me 'Uncle',' Chrom grimaced. 'And no; I still won't tell you what it was, no matter how many times you ask!'

Sahria pouted and grabbed Lucina's hand. 'Fine! Guess Lucina and I will have to make our own adult fun!'

Lucina's cheeks blazed red and Sahria clapped her free hand to her mouth when she realized what she had just said.

'Oh Naga, I didn't mean it like that!' the manakete cried in mortification, glancing at the bluenette beside her apologetically.

Shaking her head, Lucina sighed. 'I know what you meant, Sahria.'

Blowing her hair away from her face in embarrassment, Sahria quickly led the way as the two future children left the two adult Shepherds to their own devices. Robin giggled as she watched them leave before turning back to face Chrom.

'You know, as weird as it sounds I kind of hope that those two become close,' she commented.

Chrom frowned. 'Hmm…I'm still unsure how I feel about the possibility of those two getting together. Even though they weren't born at the same time in their respective timelines, it still doesn't change the fact that they're related.'

'Oh, don't be such a party pooper, Chrom,' Robin replied, rolling her eyes. 'Personally, I don't really have a problem with it, though that's mainly because they're both girls. If one of them had been a boy, on the other hand…that might have made me pause.'

'Fair point…at least this way there's no risk of them having any children of their own,' Chrom grudgingly admitted. 'Still though, it's the fact that they ARE both girls that some people might disagree with.'

'And I would say to any that have that opinion that they can go shove it!' Robin replied firmly. 'For one thing, it's not their business who those two choose to be with, even considering their royal status which can I remind you the general populace do not even know about yet! For another, love can take form in many strange and beautiful ways!' Here, the tactician drew Chrom close and kissed him to prove her point. 'I mean, if someone had told me that I, an amnesiac girl found on the side of the road and who is possibly from their county's most bitter enemy, would eventually both sleep with and fall in love with a prince…I would have laughed at them.'

Robin then looked lovingly up at the man who, against all odds, had captured her heart many times over since their first encounter, despite the various awkward moments they had both initiated. 'But look at me now; in said prince's arms and seriously considering granting his rather odd request at a little roll around in a very public courtyard!'

Chrom then blushed when he felt the tactician teasingly rub her chest against his, but calmed himself down and, very reluctantly, pushed her away and held her at arm's length.

'Chrom…?' Robin asked, confusion on her face as she stared into the prince's eyes. She then froze when Chrom, after taking a deep breath, slowly got down one knee. 'C…Chrom…what are you doing…?'

She didn't dare breath, a sudden fierce hope rendering the tactician mute, as she waited with bated anticipation for Chrom to say the words that she had been longing to hear him utter ever since she had helped organise Cordelia's wedding weeks ago.

Clearing his throat, his hear thudding in his chest, Chrom looked up at Robin, admiring the way her long white hair seemed to shimmer in the sunlight and how it fell almost gracefully over her shoulders. So entranced was the prince by the sight that he knelt there, silent and awestruck, for several minutes, through which Robin's own heart thudded impatiently.

Eventually, Chrom managed to regain enough of himself to finally start the lead up to the most important question of his life.

'Robin…from the moment that I met you, I've felt this strange bond between us, that seemed to draw me to you even before I was aware that I was in love with you,' Chrom said, making sure that his words were clear and precise so that Robin would not mistake any of his words. 'That bond grew, not even needing that first night we spent together, and has only increased ever since we've now found out that Lucina our daughter from the future…' He smiled now. 'OUR daughter; a living, breathing legacy of the love that has blossomed between us to create something truly special!' As he spoke, the prince reached for the pouch on his belt where he had stowed the box with Robin's engagement ring inside. 'As such, I wish for our minds and hearts to be as one…and so, with that in mind…' Opening the box, Chrom showed the now tearful tactician the ring that it held within. 'Robin, love of my life, will you marry m…'

Chrom grunted when Robin, unable to contain herself any longer, threw herself onto him and hugged him so fiercely that he nearly dropped the ring.

'YES! Naga, my answer is YES!' the tactician sobbed happily and, grasping the prince's face between her hands, planted a deep, passionate kiss on Chrom's lips.

After she had released him, leaving him feeling slightly dazed, Chrom cleared his throat.

W…well then, guess I'd better put this on you…!' he stammered, happiness now beginning to overtake him even as he took the ring from its box and, carefully, slid the piece of jewellery onto the trembling finger of the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

It was a perfect fit…

()()()()()()()()

That night, many a blushing guard awkwardly passed the room of their prince during their night time patrol. Their awkwardness stemmed from the fact that every guard that passed by that door that night could quite clearly hear the sounds of a woman in complete, overriding ecstasy, accompanied by the grunts of a man who was invoking the name of their deity several times over as he urged her on.

()()()()()()()()

 _A shortish chapter this time, focussing mainly on the first few marriages of this fic._

 _Hopefully, you will enjoy the pairings that I ended up making, some of which I had to think about for a while before ultimately putting them together._

 _And yes, I made Cordelia never really have a crush on Chrom this time, instead having her be in a secret relationship with his right hand man instead. I further indicated this by having her get married first, and not after Chrom got married. This is to show that she is in no way going to obsess over her game counterpart's crush, nor that the man she ended up with is playing second string to the prince._

 _There will be two more chapters after this one before I finally get to the Valm arc. The next one will focus on the second lot of marriages, Tharja pining for Raye and the reaction Chrom has when he discovers that Robin is pregnant._

 _The final chapter of this mini arc will then focus on Raye and Tiki as the two manaketes are the first of the Shepherds to encounter the wrath of Walhart: spoilers, the Conqueror will be the first real and potentially lethal challenge for Raye, since Walhart has naturally heard about the presence of several manaketes in Ylisse's numbers and has prepared appropriately._

 _Ciao for now!_


	26. Chapter 22

-Chapter 22- Peace in the Interim Part Four-

 **Eight Months/4 Weeks-**

 **-Sun and Moon and the Moon's Tale-**

Tharja sighed as she wondered the corridors of Ylisstol Palace. The dark mage had taken to wandering aimlessly around the capitol for the last few weeks; the reason being the continued absence of the man she had been obsessed with from the moment she had laid eyes on him. She had thought that she could curb her obsession by watching over his daughter, but she had soon given up on that when Nowi had decided to turn it into a game of hide and seek every time the small manakete sensed her presence.

Now, her moods were becoming darker and more erratic, to the detriment of several of the Shepherds. Already, she had subtlety given a few of them minor fevers, caused a zit to appear on Maribelle's nose which had caused her to hide from everyone but her new husband Kellam (though none remembered how those two had actually gotten hitched), and had cursed Gaius's stash of sweets to taste of salt instead of sugar. For a time, she was amused, but now that particular entertainment had worn thin and she had given up on it and so she was now at a loss as to how she should pass her time.

The dark mage, shaking herself out of her current train of thoughts, was surprised to find herself standing in front of the stairs that led to the Temple of Naga. Out of all the places that her feet could have taken her, this was certainly one of the last places she would expect. But then Tharja thought about it and realised that it really wasn't that unusual; like all of the Shepherds, she now knew that Raye was Naga's son. It perhaps shouldn't have surprised Tharja to find herself in front of the temple dedicated to her obsession's mother.

'Not like they would accept me in here…' she muttered as she took a hesitant step towards the grand double doors that led into the temple interior. 'Still…perhaps I should at least _try_ to learn more about his family…'

As she hovered hesitantly near the doors, she was distracted by the appearance of Yana. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of the cleric; when she had first joined the Shepherds with the intention of getting close to Raye, she had soon learnt that the cleric and the manakete were old friends and, according to the other Shepherds that she eavesdropped on, two of the closest members of their little group.

Fortunately for Tharja, and perhaps Yana herself, the cleric had recently let slip that she and the Shepherds' resident sugar addict were in a relationship, a fact that had made her brother chase the thief around the barracks with a drawn Falchion. The thief had been saved when Yana had had her daughter summon her golden knight and order it to pick the prince up by the collar. It was this development that had finally stopped Tharja's faint plans of interfering with her friendship with the manakete.

Now though, Tharja found herself reluctantly envious of the way Yana was able to be so…friendly with those around her. It was a popular opinion amongst the Shepherds that the cleric was perhaps the heart of the Shepherds, while Chrom was the brawn and Robin the mind. While Yana herself would never acknowledge it, the fact remained that her easy relationship with most of the Shepherds made her something of an object of both fascination and jealousy for the dark mage.

'Ugh…even her hair is radiant…!' Tharja muttered as she darted behind a pillar and peeked around the corner at the cleric.

Though Tharja, despite the fact that most of the Shepherds tried to avoid her, was quickly gaining a reputation of being one of their most beautiful female members, the dark mage was not arrogant enough to deny the fact that Yana was simply gorgeous; the cleric's long, dark blue hair seemed to flow down her back in elegant waves and even seemed to glow with an inner light, her matching deep blue eyes were able to draw people in and enchant them and her smile always seemed to light up the area she found herself in. To top it all off, the dark mage had heard several of the male Shepherds, out of earshot of Chrom of course, say that it was a unanimous opinion that the clerical twin of their commander had THE best body out of their female members, herself included. In short, while Tharja might represent the dark, seductive beauty of the night, Yana was almost her exact opposite, representing the pure radiance of the brightest day.

Tharja was startled out of her contemplations when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She whirled around and was shocked to see that it was Yana; the cleric hadn't failed to notice the dark mage when she had darted behind her pillar and, after a moment's pause, had now decided to talk to her.

'Tharja, can I help you?' the cleric asked with a friendly tone, though she was still cautious. 'It's just that you seemed to be staring at me with some intensity and I was curious to know why.'

Tharja blinked; she had honestly thought that the cleric hadn't seen her. Eventually, she turned away and wrapped her arms around her chest as she muttered, 'I was…just wondering what was so special about you…'

Yana tilted her head in confusion. 'What do you think is so special about me?'

The dark mage snorted in disbelief. 'Do you truly not know, or are you just that blind?' she snapped.

'Hey, I really don't know what you meant!' Yana replied, slightly hurt by the dark mage's words.

Tharja sighed. 'I…look, just tell me how you do it!'

'Do what?'

'Get people to want to talk to you!' Tharja snapped.

A look of comprehension appeared on Yana's face as she studied Tharja curiously.

'I don't really know how to tell you that…' she admitted after a moment. 'I mean…maybe I just appear approachable?'

'Hmph…are you saying I'm not?' Tharja muttered, crossing her arms.

'No, but I get the feeling that you think that yourself,' Yana replied gently. She then put a hesitant hand on Tharja's shoulder. 'Tharja…are you lonely?'

The dark mage froze, staring at the hand that was on her shoulder. Seeing this, Yana quickly removed her hand and apologised.

'S…sorry…it's just I get the feeling you're really sad on the inside…' she stuttered.

Tharja narrowed her eyes as she glared at the cleric. 'And what makes you think that?' she asked shortly.

Yana shuffled her feet, making Tharja clear her throat with impatience. The cleric then sighed and said, 'I…well, I began to think that back during our return trip to Ylisstol…' When the dark mage raised an eyebrow questioningly, she elaborated. 'You spent almost all of your time following Raye around, and I saw you have a smile on your face a couple of times that you were quick to hide whenever he looked at you…' She smiled then. 'It seemed to me then that you had perhaps fallen for him, despite only having just met him.'

'Of course I fell for him,' Tharja replied shortly, making Yana raise her own eyebrows. 'I fell for him as soon as I saw him.'

'Oh…can I ask why?' the cleric asked curiously. 'Not many women would be so ready to develop such feeling for someone so quickly.'

Here, Tharja let a small smile appear on her face. 'Because he is magnificent…and he is my fated one.'

''Fated one'? What does that mean?'

Tharja sighed. 'It means that, even though I had never met him, nor even knew he existed before that moment, the instant I saw him I knew that he was the only man for me…and that I am the only woman who will ever love him the way I do.'

'Well, to be fair you really would be the only woman who could love him the way YOU do,' Yana pointed out.

'Silence, I know what I meant,' the dark mage snapped. She then considered the woman in front of her. 'And what of you? How do _you_ feel about my beloved?'

Yana blinked at the question. 'Er…he's probably my oldest friend if that's your question,' she eventually replied after considering Tharja's question. 'But if you're wondering if I also have romantic feelings for him, you don't have to worry; I'm in love with Gaius now, not him.'

Tharja grunted. 'And be sure to not change that; I will not have any harlot, royal or not, try to get between my love and I.'

Yana laughed. 'I think it's kind of sweet that you are so…um…protective of him. Are you going to tell him that you love him whenever he comes back?'

Tharja looked down. 'I…do not need to; I am certain that he already knows…'

The cleric shook her head. 'Um…sorry to tell you this, but Raye's never going to realise you like him if you don't tell him directly to his face; he's perhaps one of the densest men I know, though perhaps Chrom has him beat in that department.'

'So what…I just walk right up to him and tell him I love him?' Tharja scoffed in disbelief. She then grimaced when she saw Yana nod. 'Oh…you're serious…'

Yana looked at her for a moment before asking, attempting to hide a grin as she did, 'Tharja…have you never told a man you like them before?' When Tharja unexpectedly went red in the face following her question, Yana let out a small giggle. 'You know, I always thought that you were perhaps one of the most composed Shepherds I know; it's nice to see that you can become embarrassed!'

'Sh…shut up…!' Tharja stammered, her voice rising a little as she angrily looked away from the cleric's smile. 'Anyway, I only want Raye because he's powerful…and nice to look at!'

'I thought that you said you fell in love with him?' Yana replied, grinning.

'Y…yes…I mean no! What I meant was that I fell in love with his POWER, not the man himself!' Tharja snapped, her cheeks burning even though she tried to stop them from doing so.

'Riight…is that why I've seen you watching over his daughter?' Yana smiled knowingly. Seeing the dark mage freeze, she continued. 'Was I mistaken when, only a few days ago, I saw you put Nowi onto your back when she had fallen asleep outside the city walls and carry her all the way to the barracks before tucking her into bed?'

'How…how do you know that!' Tharja demanded, her cheeks now unashamedly blazing crimson.

'You might have tried to be sneaky, but I was actually looking down from my window in the barracks and saw you in the act!' Yana let out another laugh when she saw Tharja put a hand to her face in embarrassment. 'Now, why would someone only interested in his power be willing to go out of her way like that for his daughter?'

'It's…only natural that I would keep an eye on her while he is away!' the dark mage protested. 'This way, he will be more incline to be with me when he learns that I've done so much for him!'

Yana shook her head. 'Tharja…why don't you just admit that you love Raye for more than just his power?'

'I haven't even been able to have time alone with him to decide if I do!' Tharja suddenly snapped, breathing heavily as she turned her back on the cleric. 'And why would he; I'm not…capable of being as friendly or forward as you are, princess!' She stamped her foot on the ground in frustration then. 'And at this rate, I will never have the chance to find out if he can ever feel for me the way I do for him! When the hell is he going to come back!?'

Taken aback by the dark mage's sudden outburst, Yana was slightly unsure of how to respond. After a few minutes of silence, she eventually asked, 'Tharja…do you WANT him to love you?'

'Of course I do!' the dark mage snapped. 'What woman wouldn't want the object of their desires to reciprocate their feelings?'

'Then for Naga's sake, TELL him that when he returns!' Yana sighed.

'Like it's that easy…' Tharja muttered.

'True, there is always the risk of heartbreak when confessing your feelings,' Yana said gently. 'But that's when you have to ask yourself if you are willing to take that risk so that you might a chance at happiness.' Yana stepped around the dark mage so that she could again look into her eyes. 'Tharja…are you willing to take that risk?'

Tharja didn't respond, instead turning on her heel and stalking away from the cleric who watched her go.

When she was safely locked in her room, Tharja slowly sat down on her bed and clutched her pillow to her chest. It was as she began to feel tears tug at the corners of her eyes that she began to recall the day that had changed her forever.

()()()()()()()()()()

 _Six years ago…_

 _Tharja had once been as outgoing and cheerful as Yana, with an insatiable curiosity and always willing to learn. However, it was when she met a particular boy that her world began to change…_

 _When she had first seen him, she had been immediately infatuated. The boy in question was the son of a family friend and his name was Arctus Tharn. Arctus was the third son of Lord Damon Tharn, a very prominent lord who had made a name for himself during the Ylissean-Plegian war._

 _Now, Arctus was a handsome lad, even though he was still young at the time, and was two years older than Tharja, being fifteen years old. He was tall, with rugged yet refined features and deep brown eyes that seemed to pierce your soul whenever he looked you. It was these eyes that had first entranced the young Tharja, but it was the way he always seemed to enjoy talking to her._

 _One day, a month after they had first been introduced, she and Arctus were walking, alone, through the grounds of her family's estate. She had laughed and grabbed the boy's hand when he had complained about being bored and dragged him outside._

' _Are you bored now?' she had asked eagerly when they stopped beside a fountain of Grima._

 _Arctus had laughed. 'No, your estate is certainly more than able to drag me from my thoughts!'_

 _Tharja had shyly smiled at him and, in a split second that she would immediately regret for the rest of her life, had stood on the tips of her toes and tried to kiss him._

 _However, the instant that her lips made contact with his, a disgusted look had instantly appeared on Arctus's and he had thrown her to the ground away from him._

' _Wh…why did you do that?' she had whimpered, looking up at him with an expression of hurt on her face. 'I…I thought that you might like it…'_

' _LIKE it?' Arctus had snarled, quickly wiping his mouth and spitting on the ground beside Tharja. 'Why in Grima's name would I LIKE a mere dog defiling me with her hideous mouth?!'_

 _These words cut into Tharja's being and she burst into tears; while she had always tried to be cheerful, she had also been insecure of how she looked, her mother being one of the most beautiful women in the Plegian Empire, as well as one of the most influential. Lady Minerva Tenebris was known in court as a formidable woman who had no time for fools, even those if her own blood, and it was this that sometimes made Tharja feel inadequate._

 _Now, a boy who she had thought the world of and who she had hoped felt the same had just bluntly and cruelly ignite her insecurities._

 _As Tharja wept in front of him, Arctus's lips had curled with disgust._

' _What even made you think that I could ever fall for you?' he had demanded._

' _Y…you were so kind to me…I thought that…you must have felt something for me in return!' Tharja had wailed in response._

 _She had then let out a cry of pain when Arctus, fury and hate in his eyes, suddenly stepped forward and kicked her in the stomach._

' _Let me tell you something, you poor deluded creature!' he shouted, kicking her again and causing her to curl up protectively. 'I was only ever kind to you because my FATHER ordered me to be! He had hoped that your mother would see the kind of man I am and arrange a marriage between me and your older, more TALENTED sister!' He then laughed cruelly. 'You know, the sister who you always follow around and dote upon? The sister who is much more powerful, much more BEAUTIFUL than you could ever hope to be! SHE is the one I really want, the one I truly deserve to be with!'_

' _You…you are nothing but the runt of your family, you pathetic little child!' Arctus had continued. 'The only thing you might ever be to me is a mistress should I ever tire of your sister, which whenever I look at her I know will never happen!' He licked his lips then. 'Seriously, what business does your sister have for being so damned attractive? The things I will do to her when we are married…!' He then glanced down when Tharja let out a whimper. 'What?'_

' _D…don't you…ever touch her…' she mumbled, trying and failing to put some force behind her words._

 _At this attempt of resistance that made Arctus let out a loud shout of laughter. 'And what makes you think that you will be able to stop me?' he taunted her._

 _He then kicked her so hard that Tharja felt a rib crack. Arctus, now forgetting that he was supposed to be trying to gain the favour of the Tenebris family, laughed manically and continued to beat Tharja even as she tried to protect herself. The young mage felt two more of her ribs break before a particularly brutal kick to her face caused her to black out for a moment._

 _When she tried to open her eyes, she felt Arctus's foot press down on her head and hold it in place._

' _See, you stupid bitch?!' he hissed. 'You are nothing but a shame on your family, a runt who has no place in such austere company! Why don't you just give up and kill yourself? No one would miss you if you did!'_

 _Before Tharja could let out another whimper, Arctus was suddenly blaster off his feet by a gust of wind._

' _WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING TO MY SISTER, YOU BASTARD!' the furious voice of Tharja's older sister rang out then._

 _A moment later, Tharja felt a pair of hands gently pick her up and she opened her eyes to see the worried face of her sister looking down at her._

' _Tharja, hang in there!' the young mage barely heard her sister cry. 'You'll be alright!'_

' _E…Erothea…' Tharja gurgled, coughing up blood as she tried to speak._

 _Erothea Tenebris shook her head, tears in her eyes as she held the still breathing but broken body of her beloved younger sister in her arms._

' _Don't speak, Tharja!' she said gently. 'I promise, he will never touch you again!'_

 _With that, Erothea slowly and carefully lowered her sister to the ground before standing up and stalked towards where Arctus was cowering on the ground._

' _So…you think that nobody would miss her if she killed herself…?' she growled in a dangerously low voice as she stopped a few feet away from the boy. 'Well, how about this; how about we find out if anyone will miss YOU instead?'_

 _With a sudden roar, Erothea had raised her hand and, a moment later, shadows had begun to creep towards the prone boy._

' _E…Erothea…please…!' Arctus had babbled as he tried to scramble away from the slowly approaching shadows._

 _Erothea had then smiled coldly at the boy. 'Sorry, unlike my mother I don't speak to dead people…'_

 _Turning away then, Erothea walked back towards Tharja as the shadows suddenly rushed towards Arctus and, even as he screamed and thrashed on the ground in an attempt to escape them, slowly began to consume. A few minutes later, all that remained of the once arrogant boy was a pile of bones, the flesh picked clean from them by the hideous spell that Erothea had used._

' _Erothea…' Tharja mumbled as her sister gathered her gently in her arms, her eyes dead as she looked at the spot where the bones were lying. 'Can you teach me how to do that?'_

 _Her older sister looked down at her even as she carried her injured sister in her arms back to their mansion._

' _Why? I thought you hated this stuff?' she commented._

 _Tharja, her expression as dead as her eyes, replied, 'Because I don't want to be weak anymore…'_

 _Erothea looked at her carefully before sighing and nodding her head._

' _Alright, sister…I'll make sure that you're never treated like that again…'_

 _()()()()()()()()_

 _Two months later, the entire Tharn family were found dead in their mansion, their bodies exhibiting the signs of spells that only the Tenebris family utilized, and those only known to one particular member; Erothea Tenebris, their eldest daughter. However, it was noted that the way the spells had been used was more brutal, as if someone new to using them had been the one to perform the deed._

 _While there was a brief inquiry into the murders, the whole situation was quickly dropped; the Tharns had been a relatively minor house, despite what Damon Tharn might have boasted otherwise, and all decided that if it truly had been Erothea Tenebris that had destroyed them then it was probably best not to investigate further._

 _No one was ever able to prove, if they had even wanted to risk doing, that it had been both Erothea and Tharja that had destroyed the Tharn family that night…_

()()()()()()()()

Back in the present, Tharja's thoughts briefly flicked to her sister, the only person she ever truly cared about even now.

' _I hope she is doing well…'_ she thought to herself, allowing a brief fond smile to light her face before she once again returned her thoughts to the manakete she found herself obsessing over. _'That woman is right…do I want to take the risk of letting another man into my heart…?'_

Ever since that moment with Arctus, the dark mage had never allowed herself to fall for another man, always sneering at any that had tried to court her. Erothea had naturally tried to return her back to her previous sunny disposition, but had given up when it had become clear that the sister she had once had was gone, replaced by a new sister that was now as cold as a Plegian winter night. Even though Erothea still loved Tharja dearly, she had been prone to looking sadly at her once happy sister.

Tharja then thought back to the moment that she had first seen Raye, and the rage that he had exhibited, so similar to the rage that she herself had been holding within for so long. It had been that rage, that feeling of seeing someone who seemed to be experiencing the same anger at the world that she always felt nowadays, that had stirred something within her that she had mistakenly assumed as nothing but lust.

Now, after her talk with the one person she had never seen herself having an actual conversation with due to their complete differences, Tharja finally realized that the feeling that she had felt when watching Raye interact with the other Shepherds was the exact same feeling she had once felt for Arctus, a feeling that she had dreaded ever experiencing again for fear of having her heart broken once more.

But this time, she had the strangest feeling that this new intruder into her heart would be the complete opposite of the arrogant mage from her past.

' _He truly is nothing like the others…'_ she thought to herself before lying on her side and closing her eyes. A small smile lit up her face then. ' _Perhaps…he is different enough…'_

 **Nine Months/3 Weeks-**

 **-Bird's Nest-**

Robin let out a groan as she slowly straightened to a kneeling position.

The tactician was currently locked inside the en suite bathroom that was connected to the room she was sharing with Chrom now that they were married. She had fled into it when she had felt her insides began to surge and had made it just in time to vomit into the toilet.

'Oh Naga…what the hell is happening to me…?' she whimpered as she crouched on the floor. 'Maybe I should go see Lilah…' The tactician then shook her head even as she thought that; the Rielet cleric had, only a week prior, tied the knot with her fellow temple goer Libra and the two were currently in that period of being newly married that involved not moving from their bedroom.

It didn't take a tactician to realise what they had been doing for the past week.

Robin then remembered that there was one other cleric that she could ask, one who was possibly more available to her; her husband's twin sister. With this in mind, and making sure that she wasn't about to throw up again, Robin carefully left the room and began the search for her only salvation.

Luckily, she actually stumbled upon the cleric she was seeking as she was walking out of her own room, her future daughter close behind her.

'Yana, there you are!' Robin called out in relief.

Yana turned at her name being called out and smiled when she saw who it was.

'Robin, it's…hey, are you feeling alright?' the cleric asked, immediately noticing that Robin was looking more pale than usual. 'Because you look like Gaius when he's suffering from sugar withdrawal.'

'No, I've been throwing up a lot lately,' Robin groaned, leaning against the stone wall beside her. 'I was kinda hoping that you might be able to look me over and see if you can figure out what's wrong with me?'

Yana glanced at Sahria, who sighed.

'You should probably deal with this, mama,' the manakete said. 'I suppose I can just go and hang out with Lucina in the meantime…'

'Give her a kiss from me!' Yana joked as her daughter walked off.

'Oh, don't worry; I will!' the manakete laughed over her shoulder.

When her daughter was out of sight, Yana opened the door to her room and stood to the side to allow Robin to gratefully walk inside. As the cleric quietly shut the door behind her, the tactician made her way over to the bed and carefully sat down on it.

'Right, so you should start by telling me how long you've been feeling like this,' Yana informed Robin as she brought over a chair and sat near the tactician.

As Yana carefully lifted up the front of the tactician's coat, Robin grimaced and replied, 'Well, I think it started about…three weeks ago?'

Yana looked up at this. 'Three weeks, huh? Why didn't you see someone about it earlier?'

Robin looked embarrassed as she said, 'Er…I've been a little preoccupied with paperwork. Now that we know what's going to happen in a year or two, there's been a lot more of it.'

The cleric sighed. 'That may be, but as both your friend and now your sister-in-law I feel like I should tell you that you're being an idiot!' She shook her head severely and Robin felt like she was being lectured by Miriel. 'You should have had someone assist you at the very least!'

'Hey, Lucina's been helping me you know!' the tactician protested. She then eyed the cleric with amusement. 'BUT she's been awfully distracted lately because of her budding relationship with YOUR daughter!'

At this, Yana smiled weakly; she had also noticed how close the future princesses were becoming, spending more and more time together and not with their parents.

'Okay…I'll have a talk with Sahria about it…' Yana mumbled as she felt Robin's belly gently.

'No, it's fine; I don't really mind,' Robin replied quickly. 'I think it's cute, actually! Lucina is such a shy girl and Sahria is…well, NOT! They make an oddly perfect couple.'

After a moment Yana grinned, but not at the joke Robin had just made; after having gently felt the tactician's belly and noting that it felt oddly bloated, she had now suddenly realised the cause of Robin's recent bout of vomiting.

'Hey Robin…when was the last time you and my brother had sex?' she asked casually.

Robin started at the rather direct question presented to her.

'Er…why…?' she asked cautiously.

'Just answer the question!'

Robin shook her head and thought for a moment. 'Umm…about five weeks ago now; the night of our wedding, actually.'

Yana giggled. 'Okay, now can you tell me when you bled last?'

Even more confused, Robin once again was forced to think.

'Er…actually, now that you mention it I didn't…bleed…this month…'

Yana looked expectantly at Robin as she saw the tactician slowly start to comprehend what she had been hinting at.

Finally, the tactician let out a yelp and cried, 'HOLY NAGA…I'm pregnant!'

Yana burst into laughter as a giddy smile lit up Robin's face. 'Probably with Lucina!' she commented after she had regained control of herself. 'Either way, congratulations, Robin!'

'Thanks…' Robin replied breathlessly. She then surprised the cleric by suddenly bursting into tears.

'Robin, what's wrong?' Yana quickly asked, sitting next to the sobbing tactician and trying to calm her down.

'N…nothing…I'm just…overwhelmed…!' Robin hiccupped. 'Do…do you realise what this means…?' When Yana shook her head, the tactician smiled. 'It means that…I truly do belong somewhere…!'

'Of course you do!' Yana nodded, realising now what her friend had meant. 'I'm fairly certain that Chrom has been trying his absolute best to make you feel exactly that!'

At the mention of the prince, Robin quickly sobered.

'Oh…Chrom…' she mumbled, suddenly nervous again. 'What do I tell him?'

Yana frowned. 'Er…that you're pregnant, perhaps?'

'But you know how badly he handles surprises!' Robin panicked.

Not only had Chrom been forced to have an annoyed manakete pin him down after he had broken free from her knight, the prince had reacted even more strongly when he had discovered that Lissa and Lon'qu had secretly been engaged for several months prior. He had then challenged the Feroxi swordsman to a duel, ranting about how Lon'qu had taken advantage of his position to seduce the apparently naïve and impressionable youngest member of the Exalted line. It had taken the combined efforts of Chrom's daughter and a transformed Sahria to finally knock him out.

Miriel, who had been standing a few feet away next to her own, very amused husband Vaike, had quietly jotted down the prince's reaction while her husband, who she had finally given into after he had energetically pursued her and married, roared with laughter at the whole event. She had then sobered him up immediately by casually announcing that she was now with child. As Vaike had then stared with disbelief at the mage, she had smiled at him before, almost as casually, walking over to a nearby bush and throwing up.

Now that it was Robin's turn to experience the process of motherhood herself, the tactician felt a stirring of sympathy for the bespeckled mage even as she worried over what her own husband would think about her situation.

'Robin, you're being ridiculous!' Yana said, shaking her head. 'Chrom is going to be overjoyed at the news!'

'Maybe…fine, I suppose you're right…' Robin admitted, calming down now and smiling embarrassedly. 'Sorry for panicking there for a moment…'

Yana smiled sympathetically. 'I understand, Robin.' She then dragged Robin to her feet and gently pushed her towards the door. 'Now, go and tell that crazy brother of mine the good news.'

'Um…do you know where he is?' Robin asked as they exited the cleric's room.

'He should be with Emmeryn; I think he needed to discuss something with her and the council.'

Hearing this, Robin grimaced. 'I think I'll wait until tonight then,' she mumbled.

Yana shrugged. 'Probably a good idea, just don't forget to tell him, okay?'

Assuring the cleric that she would, Robin parted ways with her and trudged back to her room, feeling her belly and smiling slightly.

' _Well, Lucina…I guess I'll be able to see how adorable you are as a baby sooner than I thought…'_ she thought to herself.

()()()()()()()()()

Robin nervously slipped on her sleeping attire as Chrom lied, waiting for her, on their bed.

'Are you alright, Robin?' the prince asked after he watched her fumble with the strings of her smallclothes. 'You've been oddly distracted tonight.'

The tactician gulped as she carefully lowered herself onto the bed beside her husband, who quickly shuffled over and attempted to put his arms around her. However, he was slightly surprised when his wife shied away from his touch and he frowned.

'Robin…seriously, what's wrong?' he asked, trying to remember if he had done something to upset her lately.

'Um…n…nothing…!' Robin stuttered, before smiling weakly at her husband. 'Just…uh…go to sleep…'

Chrom shook his head firmly and sat up so that he could force Robin to look at him. 'Nope, I'm not going to bed until you tell me why you're acting so oddly.'

Unable to look away from her husband's blue eyes, so like Lucina's own eyes, Robin eventually sighed and leant towards her husband.

'Chrom…it's been nearly five weeks since we last had sex…' she started softly.

At this, Chrom realised that she was right and quickly tried to defend himself.

'I know, and I'm sorry about that!' he said quickly. He then fumbled with his pants and, after a moment's struggle, pulled them off. 'But if that's what's making you sad then I…I will make love to you until you feel better again!'

Robin giggled at the determined, if slightly nervous, expression on the prince's face and couldn't resist saying, 'Hmm…perhaps I'll let you see if you can…' She then looked down and added shyly, '…but I doubt that Lucina will appreciate that…'

'Er…what does Lucina have to do with us having sex?' Chrom asked, his partial hard on slowly wilting at the mention of his future daughter.

'Nothing, technically…' Robin mumbled. 'It's just that…there might be two of her soon…'

She peeked up at Chrom and shook her head in frustrated amusement when she saw that he was still not getting it. Sighing with affection, she took Chrom's hand in her own and slowly brought it down to her belly.

'I was trying to figure out how to tell you, but it seems that I should've just come right out and said it, you lovable idiot!' she scolded him gently before a wide smile crossed her face. She waited for a few moments, wondering if he might finally understand, but when he didn't she sighed, 'I'm PREGNANT, my dense husband!'

At these words, Chrom's face went slack for a moment, a look of wondrous incredulity on his face, before he suddenly grabbed Robin's face and showered her with kisses, making her squeal with laughter and half-heartedly try to escape.

'Are you serious?' he asked, looking into those wide, dark brown eyes that he had the privilege see every morning when he woke up.

'YES, Chrom; I really am pregnant!' Robin laughed, leaning forward and pressing her lips against her husband's.

The tactician then yelped when Chrom flung his arms around her and eagerly kissed her again. She laughed and wriggled away from him.

'Chrom, as much as I like the fact that you're as happy about this as I am, please stop trying to strangle me!' she said teasingly, making Chrom smirk.

'Sorry, I'm just so…overwhelmed with happiness right now!' he declared, lacing his fingers with his wife's and beaming at her. He then pretended to sigh with unhappiness. 'I'm just lamenting the fact that this means that we won't be able to have sex until you give birth!'

At this, a mischievous smile slowly crossed Robin's face. She then reached down beneath the covers and slowly brushed her fingers against Chrom's manhood.

'Well…maybe full on sex…' she purred softly even as she lifted the sheets over her head and moved so that she was in a position between his legs. 'But…I'm sure I can think of SOMETHING that will be able to relieve your stress in the meantime…'

A moment later, Chrom let out a gasp as he felt his wife's mouth gently encompass his quickly hardening penis.

'Y…yeah…I think you have the right idea, Robin…' he murmured.

The prince then laid back, closed his eyes and simply enjoyed the careful attentions of his wife's mouth.

 **Nine Months/4 Weeks-**

 **-The Return-**

One week after Chrom had proudly announced that Robin was now pregnant, much to the relief of a certain future princess, Raye finally returned after almost ten months of absence and again accompanied by Tiki. Their arrival was subtle, to say the least, the Shepherds only finding out when Nowi had shrieked with delight one morning, causing the Shepherds to spring into action only to find the older manakete resigning himself to being smothered with affection by his ecstatic daughter as he stood just inside the mess hall.

'Nowi…I missed you too, but do you think you could let go of me?' Raye sighed as his daughter clung to his neck and kissed him repeatedly on the cheek.

'Nuh-uh, papa, this is what you get for leaving me alone all this time!' Nowi cried happily, now attempting to clamber onto her father's shoulders.

As Tiki giggled at the sight and the other Shepherds laughed, there was one Shepherds who was even now attempting to hide behind the others; Donnel, while initially happy for his now wife Nowi, the former farmer was now feeling slightly sick as he thought about what might happen to him when Nowi inevitably ended up telling her father what had happened in his absence.

Neither he nor the other Shepherds noticed Tharja as she rushed into the room, her eyes immediately locking onto the manakete she had been missing almost as much as Nowi had. Raye, on the other hand, immediately noticed her and, with Nowi on his shoulder, walked up to her and smiled at the surprised dark mage.

'Good to see that you're still here,' he commented and, reaching out with a hand briefly patted the dark mage on her shoulder.

Tharja instantly froze, but managed to stutter, 'Of…of course I am…! I promised that I would never leave you, didn't I?'

Raye smiled. 'Sure, but it's always nice to see someone keep their word.'

And with that, Raye walked away from the dark mage, who now looked happier than any of the Shepherds had ever seen her. Seeing this, Yana hid a smile as she silently prayed for Tharja's luck.

The manakete then faced Chrom, a now grim expression on his face.

'Chrom, we need to talk,' he said seriously.

'What about?' the prince asked, frowning.

'Valm…and Walhart…'

()()()()()()()()()

 _Oh boy, here we go!_

 _Now that Raye and Tiki are back, for the next chapter we will be going back in time slightly as we follow what those two were up to overseas._

 _As for Tharja's backstory, that was a last minute thing for me, only having decided on doing it to explain why she might have such an odd view on feelings and emotions. Hopefully it was acceptable._

 _I had her interact with Yana, which eventually ended up with her finally starting to realise that there was more to Raye than power despite his absence for all those months, because out of everyone Yana is the one who knows the manakete the most, and really is the polar opposite of Tharja, personality wise anyway. It felt appropriate somehow._

 _If any of you are wondering, Tharja's older sister (which I'm fairly certain she never had in the game, I looked) will actually appear again. Let me just tell you right now that she won't be working with Validar. Also, the name 'Erothea' is one of the very first character names I ever came up with, even older than 'Raye' or 'Fyrayus' and I came up with it when I was trying to decide on a name for a…er…succubus character (I was a lot younger back when I made it), and it basically means…'erotic goddess'…(sorry). Honestly, nowadays I just like the way the name sounds, despite its meaning._

 _So, with that embarrassing little fact out of the way…_

 _Ciao for now!_

 _P.S: '_ _ **Tenebris**_ _' is apparently Latin for '_ _ **darkness**_ _' (like the other Latin words I may have previously used, don't put too much stock in that, Google translate can sometimes be rather weird)_


	27. Chapter 23

-Chapter 23- Valm's Conqueror-

'Why don't you start at the beginning?' Chrom suggested as he gestured for Raye and Tiki to take a seat.

'Very well…' Raye replied and settled down. 'Right…I suppose I'll have to being at the time when I reunited with my mother for the first time in so long…'

()()()()()()()()()

 **-One Month/2 Weeks-**

 **-Divine Tears-**

After nearly four weeks of flying, Raye and Tiki finally arrived at the Mila Tree, landing on one of the larger branches and transforming back into their human forms. As they walked towards the temple that was located in the middle of the great tree's top, Raye looked around curiously.

'Huh…nearly a thousand years since I was last here and it hasn't changed one bit,' he commented.

Tiki smiled and held her brother's hand. 'But this time, I'm not asleep…' she murmured and Raye grinned back at her.

'Good point,' he smirked. 'I will admit; it was really hard trying to say goodbye to you when you weren't in any position to speak back!'

'If I had, I would probably have yelled at you until you agreed to stay!' Tiki giggled, thinking back to how clingy she had been towards her older brother during her younger days. 'And you would not have had the heart to refuse me, no matter how you might have felt at the time!'

The two siblings shared a smile before they stopped at the foot of the steps leading up to the temple where Tiki had been staying for the last few thousand years. Tiki then glanced at her brother, now slightly nervous.

'Um…are you sure you don't want to wait?' she asked anxiously.

Raye sighed. 'No, I should do this while I still have the nerve,' he replied, smiling faintly at his sister. 'I just hope that mother can forgive me for what I did…'

'I'm sure she will, big brother,' his sister said soothingly.

Tiki then knelt down in front of a statue to their mother that rested on a large altar in the centre if the temple and closed her eyes. Raye shifted nervously while he waited silently as his sister began whispering under her breath. While he had been determined to do this to begin with, now that the moment was so close the manakete began to doubt whether his courage would hold.

After what felt like an age to him, Raye stiffened when he saw a faint ripple begin to form in the air behind where his sister was kneeling. As she slowly rose to her feet and turned around, the shimmer began to grow more intense until, with a bright flash, the figure of a tall, slender and beautiful woman with pointed ears, flowing long green hair that matched her children's and kind, golden eyes that were filled with tears when she saw him.

'Fyrayus…my son…' she whispered, almost unbelievingly.

Clearing the sudden tightness in his throat and fighting to hold back a prickling sensation that had begun in his eyes, Raye nodded shortly at the almost luminescent woman and said, 'Mother….it's good to see you…'

And at this, Naga, the Divine Dragon revered as the deity of many countries, burst into tears and rushed towards the son she had thought lost. To Raye's surprise and embarrassment, and despite the fact that he had assumed she was incorporeal, once she was close enough his mother was able to give him a fierce, loving hug.

'Fyrayus!' Naga sobbed, burying her head into his shoulder and weeping openly. 'Oh, how long I have mourned you all these years, assuming that you had perished at the hands of Grima when I regained my memories of you!' She lifted her head and kissed him on the cheek. 'Why did you make me continue thinking that? Why did you never try to reach out to me if you were alive?'

Raye looked away guiltily, awkwardly patting his mother on the head. 'I'm sorry mother; when I realised that by saving me from death had caused you to lose your memories of me I fled out of shame. I…I never realised that it was only temporary, because if I had I would never have left…'

'Then it is my turn to apologise, my son,' Naga whispered gently, hugging him again. 'It was my own foolishness and desperation to save you that drove me to such an act; I didn't account for the possibility of losing my memories of you when I repaired your dragonstone!'

'No, it was my arrogance that caused that whole mess!' Raye said firmly. 'If I had just heeded your advice and waited for you to gather the First Exalt's forces, I might have been able to see that cursed dragon's demise instead of nearly meeting my own.'

'But…even so, I should never have assumed that you had died!' Naga argued. 'At the very least, as soon as I had regained my memories I should've had Tiki look for you, or tried to sense your presence myself.'

'Yeah well…I got good at hiding pretty quickly,' Raye mumbled. 'It was the only way I felt that I would be forgotten by the world, and it worked; the world eventually forgot about me.'

'But not us, big brother,' Tiki spoke up, moving and wrapping her arms around her mother and brother. 'We would never forget you!'

Naga nodded in agreement. 'No matter how you may have felt before, know now that you are, and always will be, my son…'

Hearing this, Raye almost succumbed to the tears that were even now threatening to spill, but he coughed and stoically kept his cool.

For a moment…

A second later, the manakete let out a little cry and, finally allowing himself to cry, hugged his two family members fiercely.

'Whatever happens from now on, I will never abandon my family again!' he vowed and the two most important women in his life smiled. He then said, as an afterthought, 'Oh, by the way mother, I should probably tell you that I'm a father now…'

Naga blinked, forgetting her tears for a moment as she stared up at her son.

'WHAT?!' the Divine Dragon cried after a moment.

()()()()()()()()

'Well…I guess we know where you got your penchant for fainting at surprising news, big brother,' Tiki commented as she fanned the unconscious face of their mother.

Raye sighed. 'Yep…if only Chrom and the others could see her now!'

His sister giggled and smiled up at him. 'In any case, it makes my heart swell now that our family is finally once again complete!'

Her brother smiled and sat down next to his unconscious mother and watched as the first light of the morning sun broke through the branches.

'So am I, little sister; so am I…'

 **Three Months/3 Weeks-**

 **-Beginning of the End-**

Raye looked around when his sister walked into the temple; the manakete had been speaking with the spirit of his mother, a practice that he had begun since their reunion, when Tiki had been called away by an attendant that Raye had never even realised was also at the temple.

'Where's he been?' he had asked after the man had hurried away.

Tiki had shrugged and kissed her brother on the cheek. 'He's usually around, so don't be surprised if you see him.'

Now, Raye immediately saw the worried look on his sister's face.

'Everything alright?' he asked, bidding a mental farewell to Naga and switching his full attention to his sister.

'I…I am unsure…' Tiki said uncertainly. 'I have just received word that the capitol of Rosanne has just fallen to King Walhart…and that he is now calling himself Emperor Walhart the Conqueror…'

'Really?' Raye mused, raising an eyebrow thoughtfully. 'Hmm…if I remember correctly, one of the Shepherds Virion once mentioned that he was from Rosanne, but not that it was under threat…'

Tiki grimaced. 'I'm afraid to say that the situation here has been…volatile in recent years,' she sighed. 'Not only has Walhart been invading the countries of Valm systematically, but those countries were already in a tumultuous period even before he started his conquests.'

'How so?'

Raye's sister shook her head. 'Well, Chon'sin's own emperor has been poor in health for several years and some of his court are beginning to worry that it may not be natural; when Walhart began to test their defences, the Chon'sin council quickly began to suspect that he might have ordered their emperor poisoned.'

Raye frowned. 'Is that likely?'

'Possibly…Emperor Ren'lo is, or was, a formidable warrior, one of the greatest in Valm in fact,' Tiki replied. 'Perhaps Walhart wanted to do away with an obstacle that would most likely have been one of the few able to resist him. Now, Ren'lo's son Yen'fay rules in his place.'

'I guess no tactic is off limits in war,' Raye muttered. 'But what of the other countries?'

'As far as I know, Walhart has already conquered most of Valm,' Tiki replied. 'Only Chon'sin and Rosanne remain, but with the news I have now received I get the feeling that Rosanne will soon fall.'

'It sounds likely…' Raye mused. He then shrugged. 'But it's of no concern of ours, is it?'

Tiki frowned. 'As the Voice of Naga, it is my duty to make it my concern,' she said pointedly. 'The innocent civilians of Valm look to me for advice during hard times, and Walhart's conquest certainly fits that criteria.' She then smiled small at her brother. 'But I will not hold you to the same ideals; I know that you are itching to get back to Nowi.'

Raye considered her words briefly before letting out a reluctant sigh.

'No…I can't in good conscience as your older brother let you go and risk your life by yourself,' he grumbled. 'When do we leave?'

Tiki smiled gratefully. 'As soon as we can.'

()()()()()()()

Two weeks later, the two manaketes finally landed in the capitol of Chon'sin. Tiki had reasoned that if anyone were able to help Rosanne, it would be the country known for its military might and the deadly skills of its many warriors.

Word had reached the ears of the council before the two dragons had arrived and now Raye and Tiki found themselves assaulted by a loud wall of cheers and flower petals.

'Is…is this normal for you?' Raye asked, resisting the urge to cover his ears as he followed Tiki.

'Yes, but you get used to it,' Tiki replied, smiling slightly at her brother's discomfort. 'And I am afraid that as soon as they find out who you are they will also treat you with the same reverence; those of Naga's blood are held in high esteem in Chon'sin.'

'Naga, maybe I should have stayed at the Mila Tree!' Raye muttered.

The manakete fell silent then when he saw a procession make their way towards them, led by a robed man who was needing to lean on a taller, younger man as he walked. Seeing this, Raye assumed that the aided man was Emperor Ren'lo.

'Lady Tiki, it is truly an honour to have you here!' Ren'lo said in a slightly tired voice. He then glanced at Raye curiously. 'But…who is this stranger?' The emperor then saw Raye's own pointed ears. 'Ah, your…husband? I was unaware that you had such a person in your life.'

As Raye let out a splutter, Tiki giggled and shook her head. 'Um, actually, Emperor Ren'lo, this is my older brother, Fyrayus…'

'But you can just call me Raye,' her brother sighed even as the emperor and his party stared in shock at him. Raye stared back. 'What?'

'I apologise most profusely, my Lord!' Ren'lo stuttered, attempting to bow but grimacing with pain and leaning more forcefully on the taller man.

'Father, please be careful!' the younger man said quickly, revealing himself to be Prince Yen'fay with his words.

'Brother, mayhaps we should continue the introductions inside,' a beautiful young man spoke up, moving forward with a worried look on her face. 'At the very least, father would be able to sit down and rest!'

As Yen'fay nodded and gently led his father back into the palace behind them, the woman turned and bowed to the two manaketes. Tiki, after bowing in return, then threw her arms around the other woman, making her blush.

'It is good to see you, Say'ri!' she said affectionately.

'A..ay, tis the same for me as well, Lady Tiki…!' the black haired woman stammered. 'B…but mayhaps you should restrain yourself from such personal contact in public…!'

As Tiki pouted and stood back, Raye smirked.

'Wow, Tiki, didn't expect you to have those kinds of tastes!' he teased, poking his sister in the side. 'And here I thought that Marth was the only one for you!'

'A girl is allowed a little fun, big brother!' Tiki replied, rolling her eyes. 'Besides, Say'ri is only my friend, my best and ONLY friend, actually.' She then poked Raye back. 'Plus, SHE'S been the one who's been keeping me company for the past few years while a certain _someone_ was letting me think he was dead! So just think about that before you tease me for being close to someone else!'

Raye sighed, raising his hands in defeat. 'Yeah, yeah, alright!' He then shook his head ruefully. 'You're never going to let me forget that fact, are you?'

He didn't need a reply; the mischievous smirk that appeared on Tiki's face at his words let him know all he needed.

()()()()()()()()

'So, to what do we owe the pleasure, Lady Tiki, Lord Raye?' Ren'lo asked as he sat down gratefully on the throne that stood at the end of the throne room of the palace. 'Not that I would ever mind having you here, it's just that this visit was rather sudden.'

'It was and apologise for that, my lord,' Tiki replied, bowing her head at the emperor before continuing. 'It's just that I recently heard about Rosanne's capitol falling to Walhart and felt the need to personally investigate the matter.'

'Hmm…yes, I've heard about that as well,' Ren'lo frowned, leaning back in his throne and sighing. 'But I am still confused as to why you came _here_.'

Tiki looked at the aged and sick emperor of Chon'sin. 'I was hoping that you would find it within yourself to lend Rosanne aid…'

At these words, Ren'lo glanced at his advisors before, after having a brief quiet conversation with them, turned back to Tiki and reluctantly shook his head.

'I…am afraid that, while I would like to go and put that Walhart in his place, both my current condition and the state of my own country force me to refuse,' he informed the Voice regretfully. 'Walhart's most recent assault in my borders left several towns near it destroyed.'

Tiki nodded sadly. 'I expected as much, my Lord, but I still needed to try…' She then walked forwards and laid a gentle hand on the emperor's own. 'And I DO hope that you get better soon; Chon'sin needs you now more than ever.'

'Bah, Yen'fay is just as strong as I was!' Ren'lo scoffed, though he smiled gratefully at the manakete. 'Stronger even, in my opinion! If Chon'sin needs anyone, it is him!'

'Father…' Yen'fay mumbled in embarrassment as his sister nodded in agreement beside him.

'Still, I shall pray to Naga for your good health, my lord,' Tiki replied, re-joining her brother.

'Again, I apologise for being unable to aid Rosanne,' Ren'lo sighed. 'Honestly, if Walhart hadn't begun knocking on my own door, I would immediately order Chon'sin to march to Rosanne's aid.'

'I appreciate the thought, my lord,' Tiki bowed. She then straightened and grimaced. 'I suppose Rosanne will just have to fend for itself.'

With that, Tiki inclined her head once more and turned to leave. However, she paused when a dishevelled warrior burst into the throne room.

'My lord, dire news…oh…!' When the Chon'sinian saw Tiki, he immediately recognised her and went red in the face. 'Apologies, my lord; I did not know that the Voice was here! I'll…er…go and wait outside…!'

Tiki smiled kindly at the man. 'Just pretend that I'm not here,' she suggested, grabbing Raye by the arm and dragging him to the side. 'Please, continue.'

'As you wish, Lady Tiki, the man replied, bowing low before turning to face his emperor. 'Apologies for arriving so suddenly, my emperor, but King…EMPEROR Walhart has just attacked Tiwha!'

Hearing this, Ren'lo sat up straighter, a deep frown on his face. 'But Tiwha is deep within our territory!' he protested. 'And it was a holy town, filled with nothing but sisters and priests!'

'Yes, sire; from the reports of the survivors, it appears that Walhart himself was present! One report also makes it clear that he personally stormed the Temple to Divine Naga and destroyed her statue!'

Ren'lo gripped the armrests of his throne, anger slowly beginning to rise on his face.

'Walhart goes too far!' he cried angrily, his advisors nodding with similar expressions of anger. 'Chon'sin made it clear to him that we would stay NEUTRAL in his foolish conquest, and yet he _still_ tested our defences! Now, he thinks that just because I am frail these days that he can INVADE? Not only that, but he thinks to spit on our very faith? Unforgivable!'

The emperor of Chon'sin then stood straight up, refusing the quickly offered arm of his father as he swept out an arm.

'It appears that Chon'sin will be marching to war after all!' he shouted. He then turned to Yen'fay and Say'ri, his son nodding impassively while his daughter looked worried. 'My children, assemble the generals; I will see Walhart turned back with his tail between his legs like the dog that he is!'

As Yen'fay and a reluctant Say'ri left the throne room, Ren'lo turned back to Tiki.

'Apologies Lady Tiki, but you can feel free to leave now,' he said shortly. 'I have a war to prepare for and I do not wish for you to be put in harm's way.'

Tiki seemed to consider the emperor's words before shaking her head firmly, 'No, Ren'lo, I shall not be leaving just yet.' When her brother and Ren'lo looked at her in surprise, she smiled. 'I am the Voice of Naga, and the spiritual leader of Valm; it is my duty to make sure that no innocent civilians are harmed in this conflict and while I may have spent the last few months away I am still determined in that mission!'

'Tiki…what do you plan to do?' Raye asked. 'I hope you're not thinking about getting physically involved in this!'

'Nothing of the sort, big brother,' Tiki assured him. 'I will simply be accompanying the emperor and lending him my advice.' She then put a reassuring hand on Raye's shoulder. 'Perhaps, if I am lucky, I will even be able to convince Walhart to stop this madness and go back to Valm if we confront him.'

'You heard that soldier; Walhart destroyed a statue to our mother!' Raye argued. 'It's clear that madman as no love for her, and probably for anyone of her blood!'

'Then I shall try to change his mind!' Tiki replied calmly. 'Big brother, if I do not do this, then I will fell that I have failed to be a voice for peace; surely you understand that, because of this, I HAVE to try?'

Raye studied the determined look in his sister's eyes. Seeing no sign of yielding in them, he sighed in defeat and shook his head.

'Fine…but don't you go thinking that I'm letting you go through with this by yourself!' he snapped, though he couldn't help but feel a little proud about how much his sister had grown during his self-imposed exile.

Tiki smiled warmly and hugged her brother. 'Thank you, big brother…I love you.'

'Hmph…love you, too.'

()()()()()()()()

One week later, Tiki and Raye found themselves standing beside Ren'lo, who despite the protests of Say'ri had donned his armour and was leading his army personally, as the emperor angrily surveyed the ruined remains of the once peaceful Tiwha.

'To think that someone would so brutally attack and destroy a town devoted to prayer…' Ren'lo growled, angry tears streaking his face. 'Unforgivable…!' The emperor then turned around and addressed a scout who was kneeling beside his small group. 'Has there been any change to Walhart's camp?'

When the Chon'sinian forces had arrived at Tiwha's location, they had been surprised to see that Walhart had constructed a huge camp and had apparently been waiting for them.

'No, sire, the Conqueror's forces remain in position, though we have spotted raiding parties leaving and returning over the past few days…' the scout grimaced then. 'And those parties always bring back spoils, I'm afraid.'

Ren'lo ground the tip of his katana's sheath in the dirt in anger at these words.

'So, Walhart is so arrogant that he continues to raid my country even as I arrive to stop him!' he snarled.

'Father, I would advise caution, if you would accept it,' Say'ri spoke up then. 'From all that I have heard, Walhart tis a most dangerous opponent!'

Ren'lo smiled faintly at his daughter. 'Do not worry, my dear Say'ri; your father has not survived so long by underestimating his opponents. I shall take all of the necessary precautions should I meet him on the battlefield.'

As Say'ri went silent, an unhappy look on her face as she retook her place beside Yen'fay, Ren'lo dismissed the scout and remounted his warhorse. Turning in his saddle to gesture to one of his generals, he said, 'It's time we sent an envoy to Walhart, with the demand that he explain his actions!'

'It will be so, sire!' the general promised and cantered off on his horse.

Ren'lo sighed and ran a hand over his face, wincing slightly as he felt a shock of pain briefly lance through him. Raye noticed and, sidling over to the emperor's horse, looked up at him.

'Feeling poorly, my Lord?' he asked. 'Perhaps you should heed your daughter's advice and stay behind should a fight break out?'

Ren'lo smiled humourlessly at the manakete.

'Meaning no disrespect, Lord Raye, but I have to politely refuse that request,' he said firmly. 'While I am honoured that you are worried for my health, I am also an emperor of a country currently being invaded by a madmen bent on conquering it!' He sighed. 'While I was content to let Yen'fay rule in my place before now, I will be damned if I do not personally deal with Walhart myself.'

Raye shrugged. 'I understand, my lord, but like your daughter before me I advise caution either way.'

'I shall take your advice under consideration, Lord Raye. For now, however, I have a war to get back to.'

With that, the emperor dug his heels into his warhorse and trotted away to inspect his troops. Raye shook his head, turning around when he heard someone clear their throat when the emperor was out of earshot.

It was Say'ri who had wanted his attention, and once she had it she bowed before smiling smally at the manakete.

'Thank you for trying to get through to him, my lord,' she said softly. 'Fie, while I love my father, he is most frustrating at times!'

'Don't worry about, I've known people like that,' Raye shrugged. 'When one suffers a decline in health like he has, no matter if it's natural or not, they will sometimes feel the need to prove that they are still what they once were.' He gestured between them then. 'All we can do is be there for them.'

Say'ri smiled. 'Tis a relief to find someone with a similar outlook as I, my lord.' She laughed. 'I am starting to think that you may be the more mature of yourself and Lady Tiki, despite what she might like to believe!'

Raye grinned. 'Oh, I know I'm the more mature one!' he snorted.

The two warriors, one a worried daughter and the other an ancient dragon, laughed together before making their way back to rejoin their comrades.

()()()()()()()()

An hour later, Walhart sent an answer back to Ren'lo in the form of the envoy's head dropped to the ground in front of Ren'lo and his command group by a mounted Valmese knight.

'My liege suggests that you beg for your lives, Chon'sinian,' the knight said to the emperor in a calm voice. 'Though it will do no good, the Conqueror is allowing you one moment of believing that you can hold onto your sovereignty, _Emperor_ Ren'lo.'

With that, the knight had galloped back to Walhart's camp and a few minutes later the Chon'sin army saw the Conqueror's forces begin to march out of its confines and start to form lines facing them.

'There…there must be thousands of them!' one of Ren'lo's generals cried out nervously. 'More than us, certainly!'

'They're probably all from the countries he conquered before coming here,' Raye commented, studying the steadily growing numbers of Walhart's army closely.

'But…but if that's the case then what are we to do?' another general protested.

It was Ren'lo that answered, fixing a steely gaze in his generals.

'What we do, General Han'ji, is fight!' the emperor said determinedly. 'Remember, those men are the ones who slaughtered an entire town and murdered its innocent denizens!' He drew his long, shining katana and pointed at the opposing force. 'I do not know about you, but I intend to see them answer for that crime, and for all the ones they have no doubt committed before invading our beloved country!'

The emperor raised his katana above his head and let out a shout, catching the attentions of every single warrior under his command.

'WHAT SAY YOU, MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS?!' he bellowed. 'WILL YOU SIMPLY LET THESE DOGS DEFILE OUR HOME AND MURDER OUR KIN?' When there were resounding shouts of 'NO!' and 'VALMESE BASTARDS!', Ren'lo nodded proudly and shouted, 'THEN STAND WITH ME, WARRIOS OF CHON'SIN AND DRIVE THESE INVADERS FROM OUR HOME!'

With cheers and war cries, the Chon'sinian army quickly assembled into formations. As his generals galloped off to join their respective regiments, Ren'lo turned to the two manaketes who were standing silently a few feet away.

'Lady Tiki, you should retreat back to our camp,' the emperor suggested before Raye snorted.

'Fat chance of that, my lord,' he said, grinning. 'Since I decided to join you last night, my sister made it painfully clear that she would be accompanying us.'

Ren'lo looked surprised, but honoured and said as much, bowing his head and saying, 'It will truly be an honour to fight by your sides, Lord Raye, Lady Tiki!'

'The honour will be all ours, my lord,' Tiki replied. She then gestured at the army opposing them. 'Now then, we should get ready for what is to come.'

 **-Sword's Fall-**

It did not take long for battle to be joined.

When the Chon'sin forces were finally in their various formations, Ren'lo ordered them to begin marching towards the Valmese forces silently waiting for them. Raye and Tiki flanked the emperor as he led the march, his sword glittering in the light of the sun that blazed overhead, the emperor's children joining them. The Valmese forces did not react until, when the Chon'sin army was nearing their positions, they let out war cries and suddenly charged, their cavaliers and great knights slamming into the front lines of the approaching attackers a few moments later.

Luckily, the warriors of Chon'sin were made of stern stuff, and the front lines of their forces held strongly. They then hit back, slaying several of the Valmese mounted troops with a mixture of discipline and skill. Raye and Tiki, with Tiki transforming into her dragon form and leaping into the air so that she wouldn't get in the way, breathing golden flames on any Valmese that came to close, added to the initial kill tally of the Chon'sin forces.

As the mounted Valmese retreated, their foot soldiers soon entered the fray and began to hack at the Chon'sinians with wild abandon. Raye noted, as he turned a Valmese swordsman into a bloody mist, that they all had wild expressions of utter dedication to their cause.

'They really seem to believe in Walhart!' he shouted to nobody in particular even as he head-butted an armoured knight so forcefully that the knight's helmet cracked and the man went reeling, being impaled by Dragon's Rage a second later.

'Indeed, they almost seem to be in a sort of religious fervour!' Ren'lo shouted back, decapitating a spearman and then quickly blocking an axe as its owner hurled it at the emperor. 'I had heard that Walhart's army was extremely dedicated to him, and it appears those reports were correct!'

'Wyvern riders!' a man's shout rang over the din, distracting the emperor and the manakete as they looked up and saw flocks of wyvern-mounted troops quickly descending and start picking off the rear sections of the Chon'sin army.

' _I will deal with them, big brother!'_ Tiki shouted from above and winged her way towards where the wyvern riders where currently running amok through the Chon'sin rear lines.

Allowing himself a brief moment of worry, Raye returned to the fight and his self-imposed duty of protecting the emperor and his children, who were wreaking havoc in the Valmese lines a few feet away with Yen'fay calmly but methodically cutting through any enemy that crossed his path while Say'ri darted and spun next to him and leaving a trail of limbs and heads behind her.

It was just as Ren'lo and his children had cut a swathe through the Valmese troops that the emperor was suddenly tossed from his saddle when his warhorse was decapitated by a gigantic axe. When Ren'lo shakily got to his feet, he looked up and saw a massive man in thick, red armour with a red crown on his head and the axe that had killed the emperor's horse in his right hand.

'Walhart…' the emperor of Chon'sin growled, instantly recognizing him from the reports given to him and what he personally knew of the man.

'Ren'lo,' the Conqueror rumbled, stating down at him with disinterest. 'I am surprised that you have not crawled back to the safety of your capitol and left the fight to your spawn; I had heard that you were sickly.'

'I am still a foe that will be a match for you, you murderer!' Ren'lo snarled, though he was breathing heavily even as he held up his katana with trembling hands.

Walhart glared at him, seeing the effort the weakened emperor had to use to hold his weapon up. 'No, you are nothing more than an ant trying to defy the monsoon!' The red clad warrior snapped. 'And I will be more than happy to show you your failings before I kill you!'

With that, Walhart dismounted and loomed before the smaller statured man facing him. However, despite the size differences between them, Ren'lo showed no signs of fear and lowered himself into a battle-ready stance.

'Just you try it, you monster!' the emperor snarled and then leapt towards the man who had invaded his country and slain so many of his citizens.

Walhart snorted dismissively and moved his axe to block the man's charge, but grunted with surprise when Ren'lo darted instantly to the side and slid the tip of his katana with razor like precision between the plates of his armour. To his astonishment, Walhart then felt a small prick as the sword's tip scraped against his skin.

Before he could attempt to attack back, Ren'lo had withdrawn his katana and then attacked a different spot of the red mass before him. Walhart roared in anger when he felt another scrape, his chainmail beneath his heavy armour giving way before the extremely sharp weapon.

'What's the matter Walhart?' Ren'lo growled as he jumped away and narrowly avoided having his head taken clean off by Walhart's monstrous axe. 'I thought that you were a monsoon and I was an ant?'

'Even an ant can survive for a few seconds against the inexorable force of the monsoon!' Walhart growled back. 'It is only a matter of time before you drown!'

With that, it was Walhart's turn to attack, and he did so with surprising speed. Ren'lo soon found himself quickly tiring as he barely weathered the storm of attacks sent his way. The emperor soon came to the realization that he was outclassed, but gritted his teeth and continued trying to find an opening for him to strike while also having to concentrate on not being gutted at the same time.

When Say'ri and Yen'fay attempted to rush to their father's defence, they found themselves stopped by two cloaked, one male and one female, individuals in dark red armour.

'Uh uh, no interfering now, kids!' the cloaked female said tauntingly and locking blades with Say'ri. 'Our master wishes to have his duel in peace!'

Hearing her brother begin fighting the cloaked male, Say'ri gritted her teeth and fought to push her own opponent back. She then narrowed her eyes when she saw the blade of her opponent, then let out a shocked gasp.

'No…tis not possible!' she shouted and jumped back to face her opponent. 'That is…that blade is the legendary weapon Durandal!'

'Why, yes it is!' the cloaked woman laughed mockingly. 'And while I would really prefer to slaughter that bitch Voice, I suppose I can settle for taking the head of a royal!' She then gestured to the spear that her fellow was using to fight Yen'fay. 'What will make you even more afraid is that that spear my friend's using is the equally legendary Maltet!'

'How do you have two of the most powerful weapons to exist?' Say'ri demanded then, hardly believing her ears but unable to deny the physical evidence in front of her.

The cloaked woman put a finger to her lips and giggled. 'Nope, not telling! But I will tell you that it wasn't us that found them, it was Master Walhart!'

With that, the woman leaped towards Say'ri, who gritted her teeth and blocked the strong overhead cut aimed at her head. Her cloaked opponent giggled maniacally all throughout their fight, unnerving Say'ri and nearly causing her to make several fatal mistakes.

As his children were engaged in their own fights, Ren'lo was using the last of his quickly flagging strength to defend himself. Sensing that his opponent was on his last legs, Walhart increased his attacks before, with a roar of triumph, he smashed the emperor in the chest with the pommel of his axe.

When the emperor reeled and bent over in pain, gasping and coughing, time seemed to slow down for Say'ri as she watched, helplessly and in horror from where she was desperately pushing against her opponent, Walhart stepped forward, raised his axe and with a roar decapitated the emperor of Chon'sin with one smooth strike. The red armoured victor then snorted and turned away dismissively as his opponent's headless body slumped to the ground, his head following soon after.

' .OVER!' Walhart roared, holding his axe aloft and causing a sudden silence to descend the battlefield. 'CHON'SIN'S PATHETIC EMPEROR IS DEAD!'

With cheers of victory, the Valmese troops began to massacre the stunned Chon'sin forces, who were slow to react due to their disbelief at their emperor's sudden death. Many of their fellows simply gave up and sunk to their knees, only to follow the same fate as their emperor when the Valmese mercilessly slaughtered them.

From where she was finishing off the final wyvern rider that had ambushed the Chon'sin rear forces, Tiki desperately searched for her brother after having heard Walhart's shout. She spotted him, surrounded by Valmese corpses and still fighting despite the Chon'sin army having already given up.

Say'ri and Yen'fay, now forced to fight back to back against their deadly opponents where the only two Chon'sinians who still fought, and it was these two that Tiki decided to assist, believing in her brother to be safe.

Roaring, the Voice of Naga descended and slammed the two cloaked individuals away and inserting herself between the two Chon'sin royals.

' _Are the two of you alright?'_ she asked quickly.

'For now we…LOOK OUT!' Say'ri yelled in warning when she saw the cloaked male quickly throw his spear at Tiki.

Before the manakete could react, she felt a blazing pain suddenly explode from her side and she looked down to see the man's spear lodged in her side. She then let out a cry of pain as ice began to form and slowly spread across her scales and she stumbled before falling onto her side.

'MY LADY!' Say'ri shouted in horror and quickly ran to her. 'Brother, quickly!'

Between the two of them, they managed to remove the spear but before they could throw it away it flew through the air and back into the waiting hand of its owner. The siblings were unable to comment as Tiki had now transformed back into her human form and was writhing in pain at their feet, tears streaking her face as she let out cries of distress.

'Lady Tiki, please hold on!' Say'ri cried, falling to her knees and trying to stop the blood that was pouring from the Voice's side with her hands. Thankfully, the ice that had threatened to engulf Tiki had disappeared when she and Yen'fay had removed it.

Yen'fay was about to assist her when he was forced to spin around and block the surprise attack that the cloaked female had suddenly sent his way when she had snuck behind him.

'Ooo, pretty good there, handsome!' the woman giggled and withdrew to stand beside her fellow. 'You might actually be a little fun to fight, not like that whore of a sister of yours!'

Yen'fay did not outwardly show the fury he felt at hearing his sister insulted so crudely, instead placing himself protectively between their cloaked opponents and his sister and distressed Tiki.

'You will go no further,' he said, firmly but calmly.

'And how are you gonna…'

The cloaked woman's taunt was cut off when, out of nowhere, she had to dodge out of the way of a sudden strike from Dragon's Rage' Raye, having both seen and heard his sister get injured, had immediately slaughtered the Valmese he had been fighting and made a beeline for the small group.

Now, his attack having failed, the angered manakete stood beside Yen'fay.

'I will make you pay for what you did to my sister!' he snarled at the two cloaked individuals.

This seemed to surprise them, evident by the way they quickly glanced at each other before staring at Raye.

'Hold up…you're that bitch's brother?' the woman asked, tilting her head in confusion. 'I thought what's-her-face only had one kid?'

'It does not matter,' her companion intoned emotionlessly. 'If he is the Voice's kin, then he is also a target.'

The woman giggled. 'Yeah, good point!' She then licked her lips, her mouth being the only part of her that Raye and the two Chon'sin royals could see. 'I must say though that it seems such a waste to kill such a hottie!' She giggled again and touched her chest suggestively. 'Maybe he'd like to have a little roll in the sack before I gut him?'

'I make it a habit not to lie with someone as obviously insane as you are,' Raye growled and lowered himself into a battle stance. He then glanced at Yen'fay. 'Get those two out of here; the Chon'sin army is destroyed.'

'And how do you propose for us to get out of here?' Yen'fay whispered pointedly.

It was Tiki that answered for him; in a shaky voice, she said, 'I…I can still fly…I was just shocked by the sudden pain…'

So saying, Tiki held up her dragonstone in a shaky hand and, a moment later, returned to her dragon form. Raye, a worried look on his face as he glanced back at her for a moment, gestured with his head at his sister.

'There you go, an escape route,' he commented, returning to the two cloaked individuals who were just watching their conversation without interrupting.

'What about you?' Yen'fay asked even as he helped his sister onto Tiki's back.

Raye scoffed. 'I'll catch up; first though, I have some insects to stomp.'

As Tiki, with a final worried look at her brother, shakily took to the air, her brother faced the cloaked warriors he was now confronting.

'What, not going to try and stop them?' he asked sardonically.

'Believe me, honey; when we're finished playing with you, I'll personally show your bitch sister your head!' the woman giggled in a sweet voice.

'Try and take it then!' Raye snarled.

'With pleasure!' the woman nodded in agreement and gestured to her partner. 'C'mon, Atlas, let's murder him already!'

'Fight with care, Iduna,' the man, now identified as Atlas, calmly said as he joined her in circling their new opponent.

'Bah, he's just a manakete!' Iduna insisted, admiring Raye's rear when she was behind him. 'A hot one yeah, but that won't stop me in wreaking his pretty face!' She giggled again. 'Maybe I'll steal his heart as well and show it along with his head to that fucking sister of his!'

Raye's anger, already nearing bursting point, finally broke and he snarled, 'You will never go near her again, you maniac!'

'And who's gonna stop me?' Iduna taunted, flicking her sword teasingly at Raye. 'You?'

'Obviously!' Raye roared and slammed the tip of Dragon's Rage into the dirt directly at his feet.

Before Iduna and Atlas could react, the ground beneath their feet began to shake before they jumped away just in time to avoid being consumed by pillars of golden light that erupted from the spots they had just been standing on.

Raye did not give them a chance to recover and immediately charged Iduna; before she could so much as utter a shout of shock, Dragon's Rage rose and fell. Instead of cutting her in half like he had intended due to her dodging at the very last second, the woman still let out a cry of anger and pain as her left arm was torn from her body and flew several feet away.

'YOU FUCKING BASTARD!' she shrieked, dropping to a knee. 'FORGET MAKING YOU HAVE A PLEASUREABLE TIME, I'M GONNA HURT YOU SO BAD THAT YOUR OWN MOTHER WILL BEG ME TO KILL HER!'

'A childish insult from an even more childish brat,' Raye replied calmly. 'If you cannot handle a little pain like that, then you don't belong on the battlefield, little one.'

'DON'T CALL ME THAT, YOU GODAMN FUCKER!' Iduna screeched before Atlas cut her off by standing in front of her.

The cloaked man then faced Raye, more cautious than his companion. He then suddenly charged forward, attempting to catch his opponent off guard, but he was surprised when the manakete didn't even try to dodge, instead moving forwards as well and, with almost contemptuous ease, flicked his giant sword forward and cut the man in half from the top of his head to his groin. There was a moment before the two halves of the cloaked man slowly toppled to the ground, blood spurting into the air as Raye stepped between both halves to stand before the now frozen Iduna.

'A…ATLAS…!' Iduna screamed in horror as she saw her partner's remains fall to the ground. 'YOU…YOU FUCKING FUCKER!'

'Huh…you actually cared for him, didn't you?' Raye commented, reaching down and grabbing the woman by the head, lifting her up by it so that he could speak to her face to face. 'It seems slightly impossible that an empty little shell like you would even be possible of such positive emotions.'

'FUCK YOU!' Iduna yelled, spitting in Raye's face.

'Wasn't that what you wanted to do earlier?' Raye taunted her, beginning to give in to anger and letting it speak for him. 'Whatever happened to the insane bitch that wanted me to pleasure her before she…now what was it? Oh yes; 'showed my head to my sister'?'

Before Iduna could insult Raye in response, Walhart's voice sounded from behind the manakete, saying, 'Put my subordinate down, you disgusting lizard.'

Raye dropped Iduna and turned around to see Walhart standing behind him.

'Ah, the unfeeling murderer…' he commented. 'I suppose it falls to me to avenge Ren'lo; he was a good man and did not deserve the cowardly way you bested him.'

'How was it cowardly, lizard?' Walhart boomed, holding up a hand to stop his troops from coming to assist him. 'He was weak; he paid the price.'

'Oh, I was more talking about the fact that you were poisoning Ren'lo even before you began to attack Chon'sin,' Raye replied pleasantly.

At this, Walhart's eyes narrowed. 'If he was, that was not my doing.'

'Maybe not YOURS, but certainly someone in your court,' Raye commented. He then smiled thinly. 'I may not have been around him for too long, but I was able to sense the hint of dark magic around that man's heart; someone in your court cursed him. Imperceptible to most, but I'm NOT most.' He shook his head regretfully. 'I should have said something as soon as I realised, so in a way it's my fault that he died.'

'No; you will soon join him, lizard,' Walhart replied calmly and put his axe away.

A second later, Walhart had reached for the saddlebags of his warhorse and brought out a shining, golden axe. Raye's eyes narrowed when he saw it, immediately recognising it.

'That's Armads…the Thunder Axe…' he said with a hint of surprise. 'How do YOU have it?'

'Afraid now, lizard?' Walhart mocked. 'You should be; this weapon, along with Durandal and Maltet, to slay your worthless kind.'

'I know, I was there during the Scouring,' Raye replied. 'While I may have been angered at the deaths of so many of my friends because of it and its companion weapons, I knew the ones that wielded them to be both good and noble; how has a madman like you been given permission to wield them?'

Walhart snorted. 'No one gives the Conqueror permission to use anything he takes it!' He let out a small grunt. 'I simply took them from their resting places, despite what the pathetic ghosts of those long dead fools may have whispered.'

'But you know about the curse of Armads, right?' Raye asked. 'That any owner it deems unworthy will die a violent death? Actually, that goes for all of them, and your little subordinate's friend found that out to his detriment.'

'Then it means that he was weak, unworthy,' Walhart replied immediately, shrugging. 'I, however, will not be found wanting!'

With that, Walhart charged Raye and shouldered him in the chest. However, unlike Ren'lo who had fallen to a similar attack though at the end of an axe, Raye rolled backwards and slid to his feet a few feet away.

The manakete was then forced to leap out of the way as a lightning bolt crashed down from the sky and impacted the ground where he stood, the weapon that had summoned it now crackling with energy.

'You will join your pathetic race, lizard!' Walhart promised Raye as he slowly stalked towards his opponent. 'When will you get it through your pathetic head; the age of dragons is ended, and I, Walhart the Conqueror, shall see it so!'

'I agree; we dragons are reaching the end of our time here in this world!' Raye snarled as he crossed weapons with Walhart. 'But while I'm still breathing, I will protect it from bastards like you!'

'Try it, lizard!' Walhart roared and head-butted Raye forcefully, throwing the manakete off balance for a split second.

That split second was all the Conqueror needed and he proceeded to rain lightning fast blows with his legendary weapon, sparks flying whenever he scored a hit. It was these electrically charged strikes that soon began to drain Raye's stamina, as the dragon-slaying weapon reacted to his dragon blood like a starved predator would seeing a helpless deer for the first time.

Raye, however, was not a helpless deer.

As he felt his strength begin to flag, he narrowed his eyes, gritted his teeth and struck out with his fist, catching Walhart full across the face and breaking the Conqueror's nose. As blood gushed across Walhart's face, Raye tackled him to the ground and began to rain punches down on him, discarding his sword for the most primal form of fighting.

'You. Will. Never. Conquer. The. World!' he snarled, punctuating each word with a blow to Walhart's face. He even ignored it when Armads sliced across his belly, leaving behind an ugly wound that immediately began to flow with golden blood like his sister before him.

However, he suddenly felt something dig into his back before the tip of a fiery sword pushed through his chest from behind. He roared with pain and punched back blindly, catching Iduna on her chest and sending her tumbling back; seeing her lord on the cusp of death, the cloaked woman had painfully grabbed her sword and attacked the manakete from behind.

'H…ha…!' she gurgled in triumph. 'Now…master…slaughter him…!'

As Raye dropped to his knees, trying to push the blade Durandal out of him, Walhart stumbled to his feet and kicked the manakete in the face. Raye grunted and fell back, only serving to push the blade even deeper into his chest because of it.

'Like…like I said, you sad excuse for a lizard…!' Walhart panted, his face bloodied and furious.' I will see the end of all dragon-kin…starting with you!'

As Walhart raised his axe to deliver the final blow, Raye weakly held out his hand. Dragon's Rage, which was lying a few feet away from him, began to tremble before it suddenly flew into the air.

Just as Walhart was about to cut off his opponent's head, Dragon's Rage impaled him from behind in the same way as Iduna had done to its owner. It then withdrew and flew into Raye's hand as it was his turn to stumble to his feet even as Walhart dropped to his knees.

'Heh…falling for the same thing I did…?' Raye asked, drunk with pain and still with a fiery sword impaling him. 'What does that say for either of us?' Finding that he wasn't able to lift his sword, Raye instead reached into his pouch and shakily took out his dragonstone. 'Until next time…'

With that, Raye transformed and before Walhart's troops could stop him he leaped into the air and flew off, nearly crashing back down to earth as he did. Arrows raced after him, but these came from non-magical weapons and so merely bounced off his scales.

He discovered later that he still had Durandal stuck in his body, after he had caught up to Tiki and the surviving remnants of the Chon'sin army and collapsed in front of them.

'Hey…little sister…' he whispered, fighting back the darkness that lurked at the edge of his vision; he had been staving off the effects of having a dragon killing weapon assaulting him for almost an hour during his flight. 'I…may need some…help…'

 **Eight Months/1 Week-**

'Are you sure you don't want to come with us?' Tiki asked again as she and Raye stood in front of Say'ri and her own brother.

It had taken almost five months for Raye to recover, with him almost dying several times during his recovery and having a tearful Tiki never moving far from his side as she assisted in tending to him. Luckily for Chon'sin, after Raye had injured Walhart as well, the Valmese had been forced to return to Valm so that their leader could recover as well. If Walhart had remained uninjured, it was a sure bet that Chon'sin would have fallen not long after the death of their emperor, and so the Chon'sinians were grateful to Raye and tended to him with utter devotion and care.

Now that Raye was fully recovered, now also in possession of a weapon that had almost killed him but that he had decided to keep, he and his sister were planning to return to Ylisse to inform Chrom of what was happening in Valm. They had offered to allow the Chon'sin royal siblings to ride on their back and give their own report on the matter, but they had reluctantly refused, stating that Yen'fay, now the emperor of Chon'sin due to his father's death, would now be responsible for bringing their country together.

'Nay, Lady Tiki, I'm afraid that we must politely decline once again,' Say'ri replied sadly, hugging her divine friend briefly.

'Alright…stay safe then, you two,' Tiki said before transforming and joining her brother, who was already in his dragon form.

' _Yeah, I promise that we'll be back as soon as we can,'_ Raye vowed, eyeing Yen'fay and Say'ri with one golden eye. _'I still have a score to settle with that little brat and her master, and we might even be able to bring assistance.'_

'Fie, if you manage that we will forever be in your debt!' Say'ri replied, bowing gratefully.

With one final nod of goodbye, the two manakete siblings kicked into the air, spread their wings and began the long journey back to Ylisse.

()()()()()()()()()

 **Nine Months/4 Weeks-**

 **-Run, Donny, Run!-**

After Raye had finished speaking, Chrom let out a breath

'Wow…to think Chon'sin came so close to destruction and you both almost died!' he remarked, shaking his head. He then gently picked up the sword Durandal, that Raye had placed on the table, and examined it. 'And that Walhart would have two legendary weapons just as powerful as Falchion and just as good at killing dragons…' He grimaced apologetically and carefully put the weapon back down. 'Sorry…but I guess this means that Walhart will be prepared for all of the manaketes we have out our disposal.'

'Yeah…and he still has two of them,' Raye muttered.

The manakete was then forced to endure another round of tearful hugs from his daughter, who had almost cried herself unconscious when he had got to the part of his (second) near death experience in his recent memory.

'Papa, don't worry; I'll protect you from the bad man!' Nowi tearfully promised, burying her head against her father's neck.

Raye rolled his eyes, but smiled slightly and hugged Nowi in return. 'Sorry, Little Dragon, that responsibility will fall to anyone BUT you; I don't want you anywhere near him.' He then pointed at Sahria, who was looking very disconcerted at hearing how close she had been to losing another mentor. 'Same goes for you, other Little Dragon.'

'Hey…!' Sahria muttered, too upset to say anything more.

Raye grinned and turned back to Raye. 'In any case, that's what Tiki and I have been up to while we were away.' He then moved Nowi into a more comfortable position on his lap as she wrapped her arms around his neck. 'So, what's been happening here?'

It was Chrom's turn to recount what had been going on for the last nine months during the manaketes' absence, glowing with pride when he put an arm around Robin and pointing at her belly and announcing that she was pregnant. Robin had rolled her eyes at this, but smiled lovingly at her husband because of his obvious joy.

'Well, quite a few things have certainly happened, haven't they big brother?' Tiki commented. She then let out a soft laugh. 'But I _am_ rather glad that no one was foolish enough to marry your beloved daughter while you away; I dread to imagine how much danger the CAPITOL would be if someone did.'

Raye also laughed and the two manaketes didn't notice the sudden awkward silence that descended the Shepherds, nor the fearful glances when they all turned to look at Donnel.

The young former farmer gulped and turned to quickly leave, but was stopped short when he heard Nowi, giggling, say, 'Um, hate to tell you, Aunty Tiki, but I DID get married!'

As one, the Shepherds all sighed before, again as one though minus a certain terrified pot helmeted villager, turned to look at the man in question.

Raye had frozen, his laugh slowly dying on his lips, and stared at his daughter. '…What…?'

Nowi, not seeming to notice the sudden way her father was slowly starting to look murderous, laughed and continued by uttering the final nail in Donnel's coffin. 'Yep, and not only that but…I'm PREGNANT!'

At this, the Shepherds, again as one, turned their heads to stare at the small manakete in Raye's lap. This was also news to Donnel, who hadn't known that his wife was also pregnant and trying furiously to remember when it might have happened. He quickly realised that it had probably happened on the night of their wedding day, when Nowi had all but thrown him onto the bed and mounted him, humming eagerly before tearing both of their clothes off in her haste.

Never in his life would he ever regret seeing Nowi naked than right at that moment…

'P…pregnant?!' Raye mumbled, slowly removing Nowi from his lap and, surprisingly, reaching for Durandal.

'Papa?' Nowi asked, frowning when her father sat her down next to him. 'What's wrong?'

'Nowi, sweetie…who was the man that was brave enough to marry you?' Raye asked casually in a dangerously calm voice. 'Just so that I can…'congratulate' the b…I mean lucky man!'

Donnel felt his world crash down around him as Nowi smiled and, seemingly in slow motion from the villager's point of view, turned to point at HIM.

'Donny, papa!' she said cheerfully. 'And he was SO good on our wedding night! He might not have been a dragon, but he made feel really good and was able to go all night!' Here, Nowi paused thoughtfully. 'Maybe it's because he used to be a farmer?'

Raye's left eye twitched as Tiki sighed.

'Oh, no…' she grumbled, quickly standing up and picking up Nowi so that they could then stand off to the side. 'Nowi dear; perhaps you should close your eyes…'

'Huh? Why?'

'Because I think you're about to see you papa's overprotective side…'

The Shepherds all scrambled away as Raye slowly stalked towards Donnel, who kept the distance between them by in turn backing away.

'Come now, Donny…' Raye whispered softly, a sickly grin slowly appearing on his face as he casually twirled Durandal at his side. 'I promise…I just want to talk…'

'N…now, Raye…er…can't we talk about this?' Donnel asked quickly. 'I…I didna know Nowi was pregnant…!'

Raye's eyes narrowed. 'But you DID sleep with her, correct? MARRIED her?'

Donnel quailed under the manakete's glare. 'Erm…ye…yeah…?'

The table beside Donnel suddenly exploded into splinters as Durandal crashed down onto it.

'Oh look…I appear to have made a mess…' Raye commented casually while staring at Donnel with an evil grin. 'I guess I'll have to clean it up…WITH YOUR DAMNED BLOOD!' Raye suddenly roared and leapt towards the villager, who yelped and hared out of the eating hall. 'COME HERE, YOU SON OF BITCH! YOU DARE SLEEP WITH MY PRECIOUS LITTLE NOWI! I'LL MAKE SURE YOU NEVER TOUCH HER AGAIN!'

And with that, Raye bulldozed straight through the solid stone wall, so determined was the manakete in his pursuit of the man who had foolishly touched his precious daughter.

'P…PAPA!' Nowi shrieked, running after them. 'S…STOP…! I LOVE DONNY!'

The answering roar from Raye, now with tinged somewhat with unyielding rage, showed that this was perhaps even wore for Donnel's health.

As the sounds of the enraged dragon, the terrified villager and his exasperated wife receded, Chrom turned to Tiki and said, as casually as Raye had threatened Donnel mere moments before, 'Are…are you not going to stop them?'

Tiki sighed and dropped onto a bench.

'Nope…'

()()()()()()()()()()

 _Well, Donnel, the Shepherds did try to warn you…sort of…_

 _In any case, I hope that all of you are somewhat happy with how that chapter turned out. I was, but I'm not the one that has to read it. Well, I do still READ it, but I do so with a slightly biased view, so I always enjoy what other people think about it._

 _To finish off, I thought it might be fun to include the metaphorical profiles of both Ren'lo and Iduna, though I won't be including their stat growths since they wouldn't really be controllable units._

 _Look below this comment for them: (p.s: it should be noted that this Ren'lo will represent him when he was in his prime)_

 **-Ren'lo, Emperor of Chon'sin-**

 **Class-** Blade Lord

 **Unique Skills-**

 **-Peerless-** Grants Ren'lo 60 Hit/Avo against all weapon types and +3 to Str/Skl/Spd/Lck. Also allows him to strike first, no matter who initiated the combat.

 **-Bladestorm-** Grants Ren'lo +5 Str/Spd when using a blade and a further +10 when using his unique weapon (for a total of +15 if using his unique weapon)

 **-Beloved Father-** When within 5 squares of Say'ri or Yen'fay, grants them +3 to all stats except Mov, no matter what side they may be on.

 **-Inspiring -** Can use the rally ability to grant each ally within 5 squares +2 to Str/Spd/Skl and decrease damage they suffer by 2 for 1 turn.

 **-A Hero without Equal-** When within three squares of a named character, Ren'lo gains +5 to all stats/+2 to Mov. This stacks with Peerless and Bladestorm.

 **Unique Weapon-**

 **Kirameku-shi (sword)-Rank-** S **Uses-** N/A **Mt-** 12 **Hit-** 100 **Crt-** 50 **Rng-** 1

 **Effects-** Ren'lo, Say'ri or Yen'fay only. Effective against all weapon types, including a manakete's breath attack. Absorbs 25% of the damage it inflicts and grants +2 to Mov.

 **Starting Stats-**

 **Lvl-** 20 **HP-** 80 **Str-** 60 **Mag-** 0 **Skl-** 55 **Spd-** 60 **Lck-** 55 **Def-** 40 **Res-** 30 **Mov-** 6

 **-Iduna-**

 **Class-** Swordmaster

 **Unique Skills-**

 **-Her Master's Pawn-** When within 5 squares of Walhart, transfers 75% of the damage he suffers to herself.

 **-Dragon Hunter-** When fighting a dragon-type foe, gains +10 to all stats/+2 to Mov.

 **-Unhinged-** At the beginning of the turn, has a 20% chance to go berserk and gain +3 to Str/Spd, but her Def/Res are both reduced to 0. This chance is increased to 70% if Raye is on the field.

 **Equipment-** Durandal (go to Google to see its stats)

 **Starting Stats-**

 **Lvl-** 20 **HP-** 70 **Str-** 50 **Mag-** 20 **Skl-** 50 **Spd-** 55 **Lck-** 40 **Def-** 30 **Res-** 35 **Mov-** 6

 _And with that…_

 _Ciao for now!_

 _P.S:_ _ **Kirameku-shi**_ _(probably) means 'Shimmering Death' in Japanese. Again, Google translated…_


	28. Interlude Chapter 5

-Interlude Chapter Five- Adventures in Babyhood-

 **-March 25** **th** **A Warren Made (1 year/3 months)-**

'Man-spawn husband of mine, I demand more carrot stew!' the Taguel member of the Shepherds snapped, her recent mood swings goading her into sounding more harsh than she had meant to.

'Oy, little bunny is running Gregor ragged!' her mercenary husband sighed as he hurried into the kitchen of the house he had bought for them to live in a few months ago. 'Gregor is wondering if perhaps bunny and he should be doing the hiring of a maid or similar person!'

The cause for Panne's mood swings was the advanced stage of pregnancy she was currently in; according to Libra, Maribelle and all of the other clerics that Panne had dragged the mercenary to in fear for her unborn child's safety, she was ready to give birth any time now.

This, and the cravings that her pregnancy had brought, had caused some slight tensions to arise between the usually happy couple, but Gregor understood their source and so was quick to make up for any arguments they had had. Panne, for her part, always felt guilty for yelling at her husband, someone who she had never imagined she would find, and was also quick to resolve their issues that her very pregnant mind sometimes forced her to initiate.

'Just…just get me some as quick as you can, husband!' Panne replied now, slightly guilty for the way she had again yelled at Gregor and speaking in a more calm voice.

Gregor noticed the change in her tone and smiled to himself. 'Ah, lovely wife of Gregor does not need to worry; Gregor will be fixing perfect meal for her as soon as he can!'

Panne reluctantly smiled as well, rubbing her very engorged belly tenderly and cooing at the baby that was resting inside.

'Never tell him that I said this, but your father is a good man, even for a human,' she murmured. She then let out a little gasp as she felt a soft kick from the small being inside her. 'At least you seem to be of a fighting spirit!'

The Taguel then let out a slightly louder cry as the kicking continued, more insistent now. Hearing this, Gregor rushed back into their living room and put a hand on her shoulder.

'Is wife okay?' he asked quickly. 'Does Gregor need to rub her belly to soothe unborn child down?'

'N…no, you fool!' Panne snapped, as another kick rocked her; she had by now realised exactly what was happening even as she felt a sharp pain go through her entire body. 'I...I am going into labour!'

Gregor nearly fainted when he heard this. 'Oy…that means…'

'IT MEANS GET ME TO LIBRA!' Panne screamed, doubling over in pain as her contractions began to get worse.

Jumping out of his skin, the aged mercenary quickly gathered his wife into his arms and bolted out of their house.

'Gregor will find feminine priest as soon as he can!' Gregor vowed.

Panne merely screamed in reply.

()()()()()()()()()

'It will be alright, Gregor,' Lon'qu said quietly as he and the mercenary were waiting outside a room in Naga's Temple.

Gregor had been told by a very surprised guard that Libra was currently at the Temple and the mercenary had made all haste to the holy building. On the way he had bumped into Lon'qu and Lissa, who was sporting her own very swollen belly but who had insisted her husband accompany Gregor and render whatever aid he could.

'I'll catch up!' she had then said insistently when Lon'qu had hesitated. 'Go on, you idiot; Gregor needs a friend right now!'

And with that, she had shooed him away before calling out to a passing guard to let her lean on him for support.

Now, the mercenary and the myrmidon were waiting for Libra to finish aiding Panne through her birth, several clerics aiding him during the process. As soon as the priest had been called and found the labouring Panne in Gregor's arms, he had immediately dropped the scrolls he had been carrying, much to the consternation of a nearby scholar on his way to the Grand Library, and had whisked the trio to one of the emergency wards; luckily for Gregor, not only did the Temple to Naga also act as the location for the Grand Library, it also served as a back-up hospital in times of need and was thus equipped for emergency situations like a pregnancy.

'Gregor is hoping that grim friend is the right!' the mercenary muttered now as he paced up and down the corridor. He paused when he heard an especially loud shriek come from the room where his wife was currently being tended to. 'Perhaps Gregor should just go and check…'

Lon'qu shook his head and put a calming hand on the agitated mercenary's shoulder.

'No, my friend, trust in Libra,' he said calmly. 'He knows what he's doing, after all.'

'Priest has been 'knowing what to do' for almost an hour now!' Gregor shot back. 'Priest had _better_ know what he is doing!'

Lon'qu merely sighed and shook his head; truthfully, he knew that he would be just as stressed once his own wife Lissa eventually gave birth, which, just like Panne had been, could be at any moment.

It was just as the stoic swordsman was about to try and soothe his friend again that an extremely loud wail, followed soon after by happy cries of triumph interrupted him. After the brief silence that followed, he and Gregor heard the unmistakable sounds of a baby crying and Lon'qu, almost reluctantly, smiled at the dumbstruck expression on his now frozen companion.

A moment later, the door opened and a smiling Libra stuck his head out.

'Gregor, your wife would like to see you now!' he said happily when he spotted the mercenary.

'I shall stay here,' Lon'qu informed his dazed friend. He then slapped him on the shoulder and pushed him encouragingly towards the room. 'Go on, you big oaf; Panne and your child are waiting!'

Gregor nodded briefly at the swordsman before practically sprinting into the room. When he entered, he immediately saw his beloved Taguel wife smiling warmly at him, holding a small bundle to her chest that was even now making little gurgling noises.

'Panne…is that….' Gregor breathed, quickly going over to his wife and staring down at the small face he was soon able to see. 'Gregor's…child…?'

'Yes, you fool…' Panne murmured back, poking him gently on the shoulder with her free hand. She then made to hand the bundle to her husband, a broad smile on her face. 'Now, why don't you hold him?'

Gregor looked wonderingly at her as he took the proffered baby into his arms, cradling his new born son and staring down at his face. He immediately saw the small, bunny-like ears and let out a soft laugh.

'Gregor sees that his son will grow to be strong warrior like his mother…' he commented.

Panne smiled proudly at the words. 'Indeed; and he shall take after BOTH of us, man-spawn husband of mine!'

'What…what is his name?' Gregor finally asked, reluctantly tearing his eyes from his newborn son to look at his wife.

The next word that came from his wife's mouth would be the most important one that he would ever know…

'Yarne…'

 **-May 4** **th** **Scion of Legend (1 year/4 months)-**

'GODAMMIT!' Lissa screamed as she sweated and panted, Yana's calming words doing nothing to ease her pain.

Only an hour ago, the youngest member of the Exalted family of Ylisse had suddenly, and very unexpectedly, gone into labour during an evening meal she had been sharing with her family and husband Lon'qu. It had been so unexpected that Lissa hadn't even realised that there had been a damp seat underneath her for several minutes until Yana had happened to glance down and seen that her sister's waters had broken and then let out an immediate yelp of alarm.

Suffice it to say, dinner had been quickly abandoned while Chrom had panicked, Lon'qu had looked extremely pale as he supported his wife as they stumbled their way to her room, Emmeryn had immediately slapped Chrom to calm him down while Robin, her belly just as large, looked on with slight envy as Lissa was led away.

Luckily for the young princess, her clerical sister had been far more composed, immediately ordering Lon'qu to help his wife and leading the way to the room they had been sharing for the past year.

'Honestly, if I didn't know any better I'd say that our siblings are crazy!' Yana muttered now as she soothingly spoke to her beleaguered sister. 'I mean, Chrom I can understand being an idiot at something like this, but I'd thought at least Emmeryn would keep a calm head.' Shaking her own head, Yana thought back to the moment when, immediately after Emmeryn had slapped her brother, the Exalt of Ylisse, a woman known for her calm aura and peaceful demeanour, had then began giggling uncontrollably like a lunatic.

Lissa let out a reluctant giggle of her own before screaming yet again with pain.

'Y…you're only now…realising that our family…is a bunch of weirdoes?' she croaked, smiling sickly.

'To be fair, I've only known our family for only a little over a year now,' Yana pointed out, grinning encouragingly at her sister. 'I guess it's taken me until now to cotton on to that little fact!'

'Yeah well, better get…USED…to it…HOLY NAGA, I'M GONNA KILL LON'QU FOR PUTTING THIS THING IN ME!' Lissa roared, her pregnancy-addled mind making her think slightly vindictive things about her husband now.

'If you do that, little Owain will be without a father before he even knows what that means,' Yana replied patiently.

()()()()()()()()()

Lissa, of her own accord, had decided that her child's name was going to be 'Owain' as soon as she had found out that it was going to be a boy, courtesy of a very clever spell that Yana had recently invented that enabled her to find out the baby's gender even before it was born. This spell would soon go on to help several of the Shepherds decide on a name before their children were born.

When Yana had then asked her sister why she had chosen that name in particular and so quickly, Lissa had replied that it was inspired by an odd man she had encountered among an equally strange force some time ago.

'Yeah, that guy said his name was Odin Dark or something cool like that,' Lissa had continued. 'I met him just before we found Robin, actually; he and the others were following this really cool girl…I think her name was Corrin? Apparently they'd come from another country in search of some dangerous lost invisible warthogs.'

'…Invisible…warthogs…' Yana had repeated slowly, not sure if she had heard correctly.

Lissa had then nodded, giggling. 'Yep, believe me I was just as weirded out as you are!' She had then shrugged. 'Anyway, that Odin guy inspired me and I thought that it would be pretty cool for my son to have a name just as awesome, so because of that my son's name is gonna be Owain…Owain…' Here, the blonde princess had screwed her face up thoughtfully before snapping her fingers. 'Owain LIGHT!'

Yana's sister had then jumped up, still being able to at the time, and had brandished an imaginary sword above her head.

'I can see it now; Owain Light, a hero who the people would never even know they have, striking down evil wherever it might rear its ugly head and sweeping fair maidens off their feet!' she had cried impressively. 'And who could this mysterious hero's mother be? Why, it could only be the equally awesome…LISSA THE BRAVE!'

Yana had laughed then before gently pulling her sister back down. 'Yes, well Lissa the Brave should be careful not to jump around too much or Owain Light might kick!'

The two sisters had then shared a giggle and embraced, happy in the knowledge that soon a small bundle of energy would be joining their growing family.

()()()()()()()()()

Now, Lissa let out a final, lingering wail of pain and, with a grunt and a final push, suddenly felt the weight in her stomach instantly leave her and the cries of a newborn child ring through the air soon after.

'About…about damn time…!' she panted before looking groggily up at her sister's smiling face, noticing after a moment the small bundle in her arms. 'Is…is that…?'

'Lissa, I'd like you to meet, for the very first time, Owain Light…' the cleric smiled happily and gently handed Lissa her first newborn child.

Lissa smiled gently down at the peaceful face of her baby son, marvelling at how much of Lon'qu she could see in him, from the colour of the few wisps of hair on the infant's face to the nose that was even now twitching as if smelt for the first time the scent of the world he found himself in.

Her eyes glowing with happiness and pride, Lissa looked back up at her sister and said, 'He's absolutely beautiful…!'

Yana smiled and got to her feet. 'I'll go get the others; I think they're all going to be waiting impatiently to meet little Owain.'

As her sister left, Lissa only had eyes for the baby that she was holding in her arms, the final, enduring proof of the love that had blossomed between her and the stoic swordsman from Ferox.

'You…are so adorable…' the princess cooed softly, staring into her child's eyes as they slowly opened at last. 'And I will ALWAYS love you…'

Baby Owain gurgled in response.

 **-May 17** **th** **Perfect Daughter (1 year/4 Months)-**

A few weeks after Lissa and the royal family had welcomed the baby Owain into their midst, Cordelia's own child finally decided that it wanted out.

It happened as Cordelia, who had reluctantly agreed to taking maternity leave while she went through her pregnancy, had been watching the new recruits for the much depleted Pegasus Knight Order train in the courtyard of the palace. She and her husband Frederick had argued on the matter before the great knight finally admitted defeat and gave his permission for her to watch and train the recruits, on the understanding that she wasn't to physically join in.

The recruits, who had heard about Cordelia's ordeal ain Plegia and how she had refused to retreat with Emmeryn when the Shepherds made their stand against Gangrel's final assault, had somehow blown the whole affair out of proportion to the point that they were all firmly convinced that the red headed pegasus knight had fought against a hundred Plegian's by herself with a broken arm and slaying them all with holy magic. It was this odd misconception, that the only other pegasus knight of the Shepherds and Cordelia's best friend Sumia found to be greatly amusing at, that soon led to the recruits looking up to Cordelia almost like she was the Divine Naga herself.

All in all, it made Cordelia slightly uncomfortable when she had found out how much the pegasus knight recruits worshipped her.

'It's utterly ridiculous!' she had complained to Sumia as the two pregnant women had spent a relaxing afternoon chatting at one of the small café's in Ylisstol. 'I mean, I didn't even HAVE a broken arm, nor can I even USE magic, holy or otherwise! That's more Raye or Yana's thing.'

Sumia had giggled and shrugged. 'Well, you had best get used to it, Cordy!'

Cordelia had huffed and sipped her coffee, still slightly put out by the out of control rumour that had made it intensely embarrassing for her during the training sessions of the recruits.

Now, as Cordelia was watching the recruits go through their spear drills, she suddenly felt a pinching sensation in her stomach, followed almost immediately by her baby giving a surprisingly forceful kick. Cordelia brushed it off; her daughter, the gender of which was found out by Yana a few months earlier and who she had decided to name after her deceased grandmother Severa, had been prone to kicking a lot in recent weeks. Due to this, the pegasus knight simply thought that it was another of those involuntary motions that had plagued her for several weeks.

However, she quickly changed her opinion when she felt her waters break after the third, violent kick.

'Oh gods…' she murmured, staring down at herself. 'Oh gods…'

The pegasus knight then looked up quickly and frantically waved at Phila, who had taken on her duties while she was pregnant. Immediately noticing the attention grabbing movement, Phila instructed her trainees to continue with their drills and hurried over.

'Yes, Cordelia, what is it?' the commander of the pegasus orders asked.

'Um, sorry to interrupt you training drills, ma'am, but…my waters just broke…' Cordelia mumbled.

It took Phila a moment before she realised what she had just been told and immediately snapped into action.

'I see…well, I had best get you down to the Temple,' the silver haired woman said and quickly picked up Cordelia in her arms, much like Gregor had with Panne a month ago. 'Right, hold on tight, Cordelia.'

'Wait! What about Frederick?' Cordelia asked quickly, gritting her teeth against a sudden wave of pain.

'I will have someone fetch him; however, it is more important that I get you to the temple,' Phila replied.

With that, the stoic Phila whisked Cordelia away, not noticing the keen looks from the recruits as she left.

One recruit turned to the one beside her and, giggling, whispered, 'They kinda look cute together, don't they?'

The other recruit also giggled but made shushing motions with her hands. 'Shh, Commander Phila will kill us if she finds out you said that!' She then snorted. 'Besides, Captain Cordelia is married to Sir Frederick, remember?'

Her friend shrugged and playfully poked her. 'So? Doesn't mean I can't imagine it!'

The recruit shook her head bemusedly at that. 'Keep it up and you'll be sleeping alone tonight!'

()()()()()()()()()

Frederick, Chrom by his side, rushed into the Temple a few minutes after a messenger had burst into the throne room where he had been previously watching Chrom fuss over Robin, stating that his wife had suddenly gone into labour. As soon as he had heard that, the great knight had gone pale before Chrom suggested that they go straight to the temple. Nodding and thanking his lord for his concern, the two men had soon left after Chrom one more made absolutely sure that Robin was comfortable.

'Chrom…I love you but you're being completely idiotic!' his wife had snapped, before shooing him away. 'Now go, you great idiot!'

'Milord…what do I do?!' Frederick now cried, his usual strong composure completely gone at the news that he was about to become a father.

'Er…I'm not entirely sure…' Chrom frowned. 'I guess we should find out where Cordelia is for the moment.'

'Yes…YES, good plan milord!' Frederick replied quickly, beaming. 'You really are most intelligent milord, no matter what others might think!'

'Hey…what do you mean by that?' Chrom asked, slightly hurt.

His friend merely waved off his question. He then grabbed the arm of a passing cleric, asking the surprised woman where Cordelia was currently giving birth.

After the woman had shaken herself from the man's grip, she pointed them in direction of the room they were after and the two men immediately went on their way. As they made their way down the corridor that led to where Cordelia was giving birth they were soon able to hear the pained screams of Frederick's wife.

Hearing this, Frederick's went more pale and he sprinted the last few steps and burst through the door and was greeted by the surprised looks of Libra, his wife and three clerics who were helping the priest.

'Cordelia…!' the great knight breathed, before slowly noticing the look of anger on Cordelia's face.

'GET THE HELL OUT!' Cordelia shrieked before letting out a loud cry of pain and, with one final push, fell back against the pillows stacked behind her back.

'Perhaps he should stay?' Libra commented, a happy smile on his face as he fiddled around out of sight between Cordelia's legs for a few moments before slowly standing up.

In the priest's arms was a beautiful, wriggling baby girl, who was flailing her tiny fists around and wailing at the top of her voice. Libra winced when one fist managed to lightly hit him on the chin before grinning.

'Quite the fiery little one already, isn't she?' he laughed before handing the baby over to the waiting Cordelia.

The red headed pegasus knight smiled tiredly at her husband and motioned for him to approach. 'I'm sorry, Freddy-bear; I didn't mean to yell at you.'

'I understand, love,' Frederick replied as he quickly sat down on a seat provided by one of the clerics.

Chrom smiled from the doorway and gestured to Libra and the clerics. 'Perhaps we should leave them for a moment?'

'A good suggestion, your highness,' Libra nodded and quickly led the way out of the room.

'Alright you two, take all the time you need,' Chrom said, smiling. 'And…congratulations!'

Frederick and Cordelia barely noticed it when he prince quietly shut the door, too focussed on each other and the newborn child they were both staring at with absolute love in their eyes.

 **-June 16** **th** **A Most Fascinating Experience (1 year/6months)-**

Miriel hummed cheerfully as she poked at the golden knight that stood before her.

After much insistence and blunt blackmail, the inquisitive mage had finally made Sahria admit defeat and the manakete had reluctantly summoned her golden knight.

'You know, he's my guardian, not something to poke at!' Sahria now sighed from where she was sitting next to Lucina; the bluenette had arrived a few minutes after Sahria had summoned her knight. 'Why are you so fascinated with him anyway?'

'I am, as you say, so fascinated with your knight because he is constructed entirely out of magic,' Miriel explained, glancing down at her stomach when she felt a brief kick before returning to studying the silent magical construct before her. 'In essence, he is similar to the tales of the Faceless and Golems from the legends of Hoshido and Nohr, the difference being that your knight is comprised entirely of magic and is not a physical, non-magical entity imbued with magic to give it life and purpose.'

Sahria blinked before glancing at Lucina, her eyebrows raised. 'Er…what?'

Miriel sighed. 'In layman's terms, your knight is an impossibility; magic needs either words to bind it into any particular form, either written down in a tome and channelled through it, or with the words spoken directly, or it needs a staff to house it until it is needed.' The mage pushed her glasses back into position when they slipped slightly down her nose. 'The fact that your knight comes from your staff makes it even more fascinating; what form does it have when housed within Serenity? What prevents it from simply collapsing when it IS summoned? If I can discover the answers to these questions I may be able to replicate it!'

'Oh…well, I don't know if you would be able to do that if that's your goal,' Sahria replied, scratching her head with one hand and absentmindedly stroking Lucina's own with the other.

'What do you mean?' Miriel asked curiously, now giving the manakete her full attention.

'Just that Serenity was made from a divine dragon's tooth and scale,' Sahria replied. At this, the mage and Lucina both looked at her in surprise. 'What?'

'You never mentioned that Serenity was a divine weapon,' Lucina pointed out, now looking at the staff in her girlfriend's hand with more interest. 'Which divine dragon, can I ask?'

Sahria shrugged. 'Dunno; all that my old master from my original timeline was able to tell me was that it was a long dead divine dragon, I don't think he really knew which one.'

'Interesting…' Lucina mused, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

'Indeed, Princess Lucina,' Miriel nodded. 'If we are able to discern which divine dragon the constituent parts of Serenity came from, we may find the answer to how your knight…'

Miriel was cut off from voicing her theory as she felt a sensation that she had been prepared for but not expecting at that moment; the sensation of her waters breaking.

'Apologies…it appears that I have gone into labour…' the mage commented before falling to her knees and letting out a hiss of pain. 'I do not suppose I could trouble the two of you for some assistance?'

'Of course, Lady Miriel!' Lucina cried, jumping up and quickly moving to the mage's side. She then glanced back when her girlfriend cleared her throat. 'What is it Sahria? We don't have much time.'

'Just wait a sec!' the manakete grinned and turned to her knight. 'Right, sorry to ask you this buddy but could you please carry Miriel GENTLY to the Temple of Naga?'

The knight's helmeted head turned briefly to its mistress and nodded before striding over to the mage and, gently, scooping the now in pain mage in its golden arms and lifting her. It then followed Sahria and Lucina as they led the way towards the temple. As they walked through the crowds towards the temple, they had many surprised and concerned looks shot their way, mainly aimed at the giant golden knight that walked at least a full head above the tallest man.

Finally, they reached the temple and entered, the knight having to bend slightly even though the doors that led into the building were a good two metres in height. As they made their way into the temple, they encountered a problem; the clerics understandably didn't appreciate a giant golden knight, in one particular cleric's words when the knight accidentally knocked over a vase, stumbling through their precious temple.

'Fine, he's already done his duty anyway!' Sahria sighed in annoyance as the cleric glowered at her as another swept up the broken pieces of the vase.

The manakete then instructed her knight to gently lower Miriel down so that Lucina could support her on her shoulder and quickly dismissed it. After the knight had bowed to its mistress and disappeared in a flash of golden light, Sahria went to Miriel's other side and the two princesses carefully made the rest of the way to the emergency ward.

'Well, it appears I should have expected quite the busy few months!' Libra commented cheerfully when he walked into the room the three women had been shown into a few minutes later. 'Ah, Miriel, so it will be your turn to welcome your child this day!' When Sahria looked questioningly at him, the priest laughed. 'Oh, only two hours ago I had Lady Maribelle in here; she has now given birth to her own son and is positively ecstatic about it!'

'Ah, I shall make sure to congratulate her whenever I see her next,' Miriel commented before letting out a little whimper of pain. She then turned to Lucina. 'I'm sorry to ask this of you, princess, but could you please go and fetch my husband?'

'Of course, Lady Miriel!' Lucina replied quickly. She then lightly kissed Sahria on the cheek before hurrying out, gently closing the door behind her.

Sahria, smiling slightly at the brief show of affection she had just received, turned and asked the mage, 'So, do you want me to leave or…?'

'Actually, I was hoping to ask you a few more questions about your staff if you are willing,' Miriel replied even as Libra put a blanket over her legs, raised her knees and gently spread them.

'Er…I mean, shouldn't you concentrate more in giving birth to your son?' the manakete asked, a little surprised by the request.

'I am quite capable of performing both acts, Princess Sahria,' Miriel insisted.

Libra shook his head, a bemused smile on his face, before saying to Sahria, 'If I might suggest something for you to do, Princess Sahria, perhaps you could use that marvellous ability of yours and help numb the pain our good mage here will be experiencing in a few moments.'

The priest was referring to the ability that Sahria shared with her mother, that being the ability to project an aura that both protected an ally and, more importantly, healed them. Yana herself had utilized her ability to assist both Lissa and, only a few days ago, Sumia when the pegasus knight had had her turn at giving birth. Both women had expressed gratitude to the cleric, and it was now known, not only amongst the Shepherds but now the entire capitol, that if a woman was going to give birth one should try and petition the cleric-princess's services, which she was more than happy to give. Indeed, she had also helped Libra when Maribelle had been in the Temple, but had left saying that she was feeling slightly fatigued and needed something to eat.

'Um…are you sure?' Sahria asked now, slightly nervous; she had never been all that good at that particular ability and even though Yana had now been helping her practice it the manakete was still unsure if she was able to assist the priest. 'I mean…I haven't had that much practice with it…'

Libra smiled encouragingly at her. 'I am sure that you will do well, princess, and if you feel like you cannot then perhaps your staff will be adequate instead?'

'I…guess I can give it a go without Serenity…practice making perfect and all that…' Sahria mumbled as she moved to stand next to Miriel. 'But if it looks like it's not doing anything then I'll switch to it.'

'Thank you, princess,' Libra nodded gratefully.

Taking a breath to calm herself, Sahria then held out her hands with the palms facing down towards Miriel's stomach and closed her eyes in concentration. A few moments later a soft golden light, exactly like when her mother used her own ability, gently radiated out from her palms and slowly encompassed the pregnant mage's entire body. As it washed over her, Miriel eyed it keenly, a fascinated gleam in her eyes even as she let out a sigh of relaxation.

'Quite curious…' the mage commented. 'When you activated your ability I felt an almost immediate warmth begin to encompass my entire being…a most relaxing warmth as well…'

'Really?' Sahria asked anxiously, still unsure if she was really helping. 'Just tell me if it changes for the worse or anything, yeah?'

'I shall endeavour to notify you of any change in my current demeanour…' Miriel sighed, a small smile of pleasure on her face as she sat back, looking like she had almost forgotten that she was about to give birth to her son.

The atmosphere of relaxation was quickly ruined when the door to the emergency room was suddenly kicked open and the large, muscular form of the Shepherds' blonde fighter came charging into it.

'Yo, my rival's daughter told me that the wife of the Vaike was giving birth to his son!' Vaike cried, almost knocking Sahria over as he fell to his knees next to his wife. 'Shove over, princess dragon; Teach'll take it from here!'

As Vaike very bluntly began shouting at Miriel's stomach, using phrases like 'C'mon kid, the Vaike is waitin' on ya!' and 'As soon as you're outta the Vaike's wife the Vaike is gonna teach ya how to hold an axe!', Sahria and Libra looked on in stunned bemusement. Miriel, on the other hand, was becoming increasingly irritated as her husband continued to yell at her belly and their coming child, and if the deep furrows caused by her eyebrows meeting were anything to go by, Vaike had seconds to live.

Finally, after two minutes of loud shouts, Miriel finally had enough and, in a dangerously calm voice, snapped, 'Vaike; if you do not desist with that inane blathering, I will be forced to test a new combination spell on you forthwith!'

'Eh? What do ya mean by that?' Vaike asked, a look of confusion on his face.

Miriel rolled her eyes and looked at Sahria. 'Princess, would you be so kind as to escort my husband out of this room, please?'

'Woah, woah; the Vaike insists that he be here for the birth of his son!' the shirtless man protested. He then glanced down at Sahria, who was several inches shorter than him. 'Anyway, what makes ya think she can escort Teach anywhere; she's so tiny?'

Sahria's left eye twitched with irritation at Vaike's casual dismissal of her and smiled sweetly up at him. She then grabbed him by the arm and twisted it painfully behind his back in one swift movement, causing Vaike to let out a grunt of pain. When the fighter tried to shake off the manakete's grip, he found that he was quite unable to.

'Hey, what the hell?' he demanded even as he was pushed roughly out of the room by an irritated manakete.

'I'm a DRAGON, remember?' Sahria sighed, rolling her eyes. 'That means that, even in my human form, I'm probably twice as strong as you'll ever be, idiot!'

As Vaike continued to protest, Sahria looked apologetically over her shoulder before shoving Vaike the final step out of the room and quickly slamming the door in his face before he could recover.

'Right…' the manakete commented, dusting her hands off. 'Where were we?'

()()()()()()()

Half an hour later, Miriel finally exited the medical room, smiling faintly and holding a bundle. As Vaike looked up at her glumly from where he had been sitting on the ground with his back to the wall, his wife switched her smile to him.

'Oh, come here, you big oaf!' she sighed. 'I shall allow you to greet your son…as long as you keep it professional.'

Grinning, but actually trying to act calm, Vaike quickly got to his feet and cautiously approached his wife, who was holding the bundle out to him. He gently pushed the blanket aside to reveal the tiny face of his new born son. The sight of his child caused an odd prickling sensation in eyes of the brash warrior and he clumsily wiped at them.

'D…damn…' he sniffed. 'The…the Vaike seems to be leaking sweat from his eyes…guess he's been working them out too much…!'

Miriel eyed him keenly at that. 'Interesting…perhaps when we get home you will allow me to study such an intriguing phenomenon?'

'The Vaike has no idea what his wife just said, but if she wants it, she gots it!'

As the happy family gently embraced each other and fussed over their baby, Sahria felt a hand slip into hers and looked around to see Lucina smiling at her.

'I'm glad that you were able to make her feel comfortable,' the bluenette murmured, nodding her head at Miriel. 'There really is a lot of your mother in you.'

Smiling, Sahria simply responded by leaning forward and lightly pressing her lips against Lucina's, silently grateful that she had been able to assist in the birth of a child like her mother had done before her.

 **-June 30** **th** **Exalted Elation (1 year/6 months)-**

Robin smiled at Chrom as he prepared to join her in their bed, the prince finally having returned from a long day with the council only a few minutes earlier.

'Gods, but I will be glad when Ylisse and her allies can finally have some peace!' Chrom sighed as he stripped off his armour.

As he made to jump into their bed, Robin's nose twitched and she grimaced; her husband smelt strongly like sweat.

'Uh, uh, mister; go and have a bath!' she ordered, pointing firmly at their bathroom.

Chrom rolled his eyes before eying her mischievously.

'Perhaps milady would like to join me?' he asked in a low tone, taking one of his wife's hands and tenderly kissing the tips of her fingers.

Robin laughed and pointed at her belly with a raised eyebrow. 'Perhaps milord should remember that his lady would most likely take up much of the bath's space in her current condition?' she teased gently.

'Aw, c'mon Robin; it's been months since I've seen you naked!' Chrom pretended to whine, though he had understood what his wife had meant.

'And as soon as I've given birth to baby Lucina and fully recovered, I promise that I will jump you and ride you with wild abandon; then you'll get to see as much of naked me as you want!' Robin replied, grinning. 'Now, seriously, go and have a bath; you're starting to make me feel a little nauseous!'

'Wow, you sure know how to make a man feel good!' Chrom said sarcastically, smirking.

His wife threw a pillow at him and he finally relented, laughing as he shut the door to the bathroom. Robin smiled fondly at him, shaking her head and wondering how in Naga's name she had allowed herself to fall in love with that man.

As she was about to return to her book, a helpful one that Lissa had lent her titled _'The Seven Great Years of Motherhood…and the ones following it…'_ when she felt a small kick. Robin paused for a moment, but when there was no sensation, she shrugged and returned to her book. However, a few seconds later there was another, more insistent kick.

'Are you hungry, precious girl?' Robin cooed, gently rubbing her belly and thinking that perhaps she should eat something.

These thoughts were soon driven out of her mind when the kicks returned, more forceful and more regular and the tactician let out a pained gasp. She then felt a damp sensation between her legs and immediately realised what was going on.

'C…Chrom…!' she whimpered weakly, sitting straight up and doubling over in pain as there was a particularly violent kick from the still to be born baby Lucina. 'C…CHROM…!'

'Yeah, what is it, honey?' Chrom's voice came from behind the bathroom door. 'Are you reconsidering joining me in here?'

Robin rolled her eyes before letting out a louder cry of pain. At this, there was the sudden sounds of splashing before Chrom came rushing out a few seconds later, a towel wrapped around his waist and Falchion drawn. When he saw his wife bent over in pain on their bed, he immediately sheathed his weapon and ran to her side.

'Robin, what's wrong?!' he asked quickly.

'I…I'm…going into…labour…!' Robin panted, letting out a hiss and cursing under her breath. 'Lu…Lucina is….coming…!'

Immediately after hearing this, Chrom's face went deathly pale and he immediately began to panic.

'Oh god, oh gods…!' he cried, frantically looking around the room as if expecting to find an answer hidden in one of the corners. 'Wh…why didn't you tell me this was going to happen?'

The almost accusing tone in Chrom's voice earned him an irritated look from his wife.

'Because I didn't know it would happen NOW!' she snapped, resisting the urge to punch her husband in the face for his stupidity; admittedly it was her now pain filled mind that had made her think of such an act. 'Just go get Yana and Lissa!'

'What about Libra?' Chrom asked, still not noticing the annoyed sigh his wife let out as he continued to kneel uselessly beside the bed.

'It's too late to go get him, besides he's looking after Lilah right now!' Robin reminded him; only yesterday Lilah had given birth to her own child, a daughter that the cleric and priest had decided to call Hannah.

'In any case, Yana is the best next thing, of not better, so go get her already!' Robin continued snappishly, pointing a finger towards the door.

'R…right…I'll go do that!' Chrom stuttered, his heart in his throat as he hurried off to do his wife's bidding.

()()()()()()()()()()

A few minutes later, Chrom arrived at Yana's door, Lissa trailing behind him and yawning as she tried to fully wake herself up.

Without even bothering to knock, having already done that when he had crashed open the door and nearly had his head taken off when Lon'qu's katana whistled through the air in response to the sudden intrusion, Chrom burst into his twin's room.

'Yana, we need you; Robin's gone…into…WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!'

The last part of Chrom's sentence had devolved into a strangled roar at what he saw; there, frozen with an expression still very much in the throes of ecstasy, was his twin sister, completely naked and straddling a similarly de-clothed Gaius, who was even now still massaging Yana's ample chest.

'C…CHROM…!' Yana shrieked even as she let out an involuntary, very loud moan as Gaius unconsciously moved his hips upward. 'G…GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!'

'Wait; first things first…!' Chrom growled, slowly drawing Falchion even as he glared at the thief, who was by now coming down from his love high and had finally noticed the presence of the intruder.

Yana closed her eyes in intense embarrassment, not helped by the fact that she was now biting her lip so hard that she was drawing blood in an attempt not to let out even more moans of pleasure that were threatening to escape her.

'C…Chrom…I swear to Naga that if you don't leave RIGHT NOW, I will sic my daughter on you!' she growled through gritted teeth, not trusting herself to open her mouth fully. 'I am ALMOST done here, so whatever was so urgent that you needed to barge in here without knocking can wait a few more seconds.' When Gaius cleared his throat pointedly, the cleric sighed and rolled her eyes. 'Fine; a few more MINUTES…gods…!'

Chrom furiously shook his head, staring pointedly away from Yana even as Lissa giggled uncontrollably behind him.

'No, this can't wait; Robin's gone into labour and she needs you!' he said stiffly. 'RIGHT NOW!'

At this, Yana's face straightened and she looked surprised before a smile slowly appeared on her face.

'OH…! Well then, yeah; that's definitely more important than this right now!' she said, instantly forgetting her anger at her brother and hopping off a very irritated Gaius, who was forced to quickly shove the bed sheets over his midriff to hide his still very erect manhood.

'So, guess I'm gonna have to finish by myself, huh?' he muttered, adjusting the lollipop in his mouth as his wife bent down to kiss him even as she was throwing on her nightdress.

Yana smiled down at him mischievously. 'Oh, don't worry honey; when I get back I will…' Chrom's twin bent over then and whispered into Gaius's ears for a few moments, a small, sexy smile on her face as she lightly brushed her husband's cheek at the same time. When she straightened, the thief's mouth was hanging open and he was staring in wonder at his wife.

'Er…uh…yeah, sure, go help our tactician!' he muttered, his voice cracking slightly with excitement and the unfortunate bulge near the part of the sheets covering his midriff raised itself perceptibly, much to Chrom's exasperation.

'Alright, let's go!' he snapped, waving his arms in the direction of the door impatiently. As Yana and Lissa quickly left, he remained behind briefly to look threateningly at the thief. 'Do NOT make me see my sister naked ever again! EVER…AGAIN…!'

'Hey, if you'd only knocked, Blue…' Gaius smirked, shrugging.

Chrom shook his head and was about to retort when he heard his sisters call to him impatiently.

As the prince slammed the door behind him, Gaius casually put his arms behind his head and let out a low whistle of admiration for what his wife had promised to do to him, and FOR him, as soon as she returned.

'Damn…what did they teach her down in the Rielet sisterhood?' he wondered to himself. 'Pretty surprising, babe; pretty damn surprising!'

()()()()()()()()()

Forty minutes later, Chrom was chewing his nails furiously as he nervously waited for Yana and Lissa to come out of the room he shared with his beloved wife Robin.

'Gods…what's taking them so damned long?' he muttered to himself for the twentieth time that night.

As soon as he and his sisters had arrived at his room, the prince had been gently but firmly told to wait outside while they assisted Robin. A few minutes after they had shut the door, Chrom had soon heard the sounds of his wife screaming in pain before she seemed to sigh in relaxation; Chrom had immediately known at that point that Yana had begun using her ability.

Now, however, Chrom was starting to worry; it had been several minutes since he had last heard anything from behind the door and he was now very tempted to simply kick the door down and storm into the room to make sure his wife was okay.

'Dammit…screw this!' he muttered and drew Falchion, preparing himself to do exactly that.

However, just as he was about to make his move, the door was flung open and a very tired looking Lissa poked her head out of the door.

'Chrom, Robin…er…what are you doing?' Lissa raised an eyebrow at the sight of her brother standing frozen on the other side of the door with his sword in his hands.

'Ah…no, nothing much, really…' Chrom mumbled embarrassed and sheathing Falchion. He then anxiously looked at his sister. 'Is Robin…?'

The blonde princess smiled widely and gestured for Chrom to come into the room. As she stepped back to allow her brother to move quickly past her, she let out a yawn and excused herself, saying that now that the whole ordeal was over with she needed to get some well-deserved sleep.

'I'm leaving too, guys, sorry,' Yana said quickly, smiling at Chrom as she patted him on the arm. 'I have an impatient husband who's waiting for me to…er…well, to return to our room. Oh and…congratulations, Chrom!'

With a final wave, the cleric shut the door quietly behind her, leaving Chrom to stare at his wife as she grinned up at him from their bed.

'Hey you…why don't you come over here?' she said encouragingly. 'I need the two most important people in my life to be with me right now, and so far I've only got one!'

Chrom's lower lip quivered and he quickly rushed over to his wife, throwing an arm around her as he joined her on the bed. After passionately kissing her for several long, blissful seconds, he then looked down at the face of the most beautiful little girl he had ever seen.

'Naga…she's….she's perfect…!' he whispered, smiling gently and tenderly stroking baby Lucina's face. He then laughed quietly and pointed to the baby's face. 'Look; she has your nose!'

Robin laughed with him and gently nuzzled her own nose against baby Lucina's.

'Lucina…I know I've already seen how you're going to grow up, but right now…you are the most beautiful thing in the world…' she cooed, her eyes full with adoration as she stared at her daughter's face as if hypnotised.

'And we will protect you forever…' Chrom vowed solemnly. 'BOTH of you…!'

With that, the happy couple, plus newborn daughter, spent the rest of the night fawning over each other, not even noticing when the night slowly began to give way to the first light of day…

()()()()()()()()()()()

 _Well, a slightly more heart-warming interlude chapter._

 _I had actually not originally intended to write this one, but after an hour's thought I decided that it might be fun to include it; after all, we all need to know how, and when, SOME of the future children came into being, don't we?_

 _Please do let me know your opinion on how these little birthing scenes went and how you thought they were handled. Like lemon scenes, I am not very experienced when it comes to describing such events, and (I'll be completely honest) birthing scenes always freaked me out and still do. Of course, I'd love to have kids myself, but whichever girl who decides, for whatever strange reason, to have my kid will have to resign herself to the fact that the father of her child will most likely faint in the hospital room._

 _Yeah…I am a very faint hearted person when it comes to medical procedures, I'm afraid…_

 _My final word will be a question: Which one of these did you like the best?_

 _Ciao for now!_


	29. Chapter 24

-Chapter 24- Plans Made-

A few weeks after baby Lucina had been born, which was an odd feeling for the adult Lucina that she still needed to get used to, Chrom and Robin were in the throne room of Ylisstol Palace as they listened to a Feroxi messenger that had arrived a few minutes earlier speak to Emmeryn. The messenger was a very nervous looking, beautiful young woman called Olivia with pink hair and dressed in the garb of a dancer who, though she was speaking to Emmeryn, kept her gaze on the ground. The soldiers that had escorted her stood to one side, and Robin suppressed a giggle when she saw one of them shake his head at Olivia and sigh.

'S…so, that's why the Great Khan has sent me here…' Olivia squeaked. 'Walhart has started moving again and have just conquered Rosanne.' The dancer looked up shyly before immediately lowering her gaze again. 'Khan Flavia requests that you send an envoy to Feroxi so that she can discuss the matter further; she fears that Valm will be sailing across the seas so that Walhart can then make a move on her own country.'

'If what you have told me is true, then I can certainly oblige Khan Flavia,' Emmeryn said, a serious look on her face. 'I shall make immediate plans to travel to Regna Ferox with all speed.'

'Somehow I knew she would insist on dealing with this personally,' Chrom muttered to his wife, who smiled.

'If she didn't then I'd start thinking that someone had replaced her!' Robin joked softly in reply. 'All we need to do is keep her safe.'

'Hmph…' Chrom muttered simply.

Chrom and Robin then looked up when they heard Olivia clear her throat nervously.

'Um…th…there's also another reason why I was sent here…' the shy woman said cautiously. 'Although, this one comes from Khan Basilio…' The pink haired woman walked forward and handed Emmeryn a sealed envelope before standing back and covering her face in her hands.

Emmeryn opened the envelope and read the letter that was contained within. Her eyebrows shot up with surprise and she looked back down at Olivia.

'Khan Basilio is lending us your services?' the Exalt questioned. When Olivia nodded shyly, Emmeryn frowned. 'Is…that what you want?'

Olivia shrugged slightly. 'Even if it wasn't, I still would have; I owe Khan Basilio and Flavia a debt that I still need to repay…'

'And what debt is that?'

A small smile appeared on the shy woman's face then. 'They saved my life when I was going through a tough time…that's all I'll say on the matter.'

'Very well, Lady Olivia,' Emmeryn nodded, smiling. 'In what capacity did Khan Basilio want you to serve?'

At this, Olivia whimpered and, with a shaking finger, pointed at Chrom. 'He…er…wants me to join the Shepherds.' The woman then waved her hands about nervously. 'B…but if that's out of the question, I completely understand; I am just as prepared to be a maid if that is what you wish.'

Emmeryn looked at her brother, eyebrows raised, at Olivia's words. Chrom considered the request that was being made to him by the absent Khan Basilio for a moment before shrugging.

'I have no problem with it,' the prince said. 'If Khan Basilio himself is vouching for her, then who am I to disappoint him? Besides, he wouldn't be offering her services in the first place if she was unskilled; I trust that she's good enough.'

'Then that's that decision made,' Emmeryn replied, smiling slightly at Olivia. 'Now, it seems that I have preparations to make!'

With that, the Exalt dismissed those in the room apart from her brother, Robin and Phila. The others trudged out of the room, Lissa eagerly taking Olivia by the arm and promising to show her around.

'Oh, the Shepherds are all awesome!' the blonde princess chirped. She then hesitated for a moment before slightly amending her statement. 'But if you see a gloomy looking dark mage lurking around, that's Tharja…and it's probably best that you don't try to talk to her. Oh and also NEVER get between her and Raye; he's the tall, serious looking manakete guy that almost always has his daughter hanging around or on him.'

'Are…are they together?' Olivia asked uncertainly.

'Nah, Tharja just likes stalking him that's all,' Lissa replied. She then giggled. 'And I don't think Raye really realises what's going on, even though EVERY other Shepherd knows about it by now.'

'I…I see…' Lissa's companion mumbled.

With an encouraging smile, Lissa continued to drag Olivia through the halls of the palace, their destination the barracks of the Shepherds.

()()()()()()()

'I'm surprised at you, brother,' Emmeryn commented as she relaxed on her throne and echoing Robin's own words. 'I was expecting you to protest against me going personally to Regna Ferox, insisting that the trip would be too dangerous.'

Chrom grimaced as Robin snickered. 'Like I told my oh-so-mature wife, I've long since resigned myself to the fact that you will never be satisfied with just letting someone else do the dangerous work, especially if it involves innocent people possibly getting hurt.'

The prince's sister laughed. 'That is a rather mature attitude, Chrom! Your marriage to Robin, and the subsequent birth of Lucina, seem to have calmed you down somewhat.'

'I wouldn't go THAT far, Lady Emmeryn,' Robin scoffed. 'He's still very much the oaf we all know and love!'

'I'm standing right here!' Chrom grumbled, but smiled when his wife kissed him affectionately on the cheek.

'We know, dear; it's why we're making fun of you!'

'IF we could get back to business…?' Phila sighed impatiently. 'We still have to plan for her grace's journey, and I for one would like to make it as safe as possible.' The stoic commander of the pegasus knights then coughed. 'And as such, I will be coming along, no matter what some people might protest.' Here, Phila glared pointedly at her charge.

'Phila…I wouldn't have it any other way!' Emmeryn laughed nervously, knowing that protesting would be a very foolish idea. She then turned back to her brother. 'And what of Lady Tiki; do you think she and her brother will be joining us?'

Chrom shrugged. 'Raye, I'm not so sure about; he's still dealing with Nowi's newborn which is apparently making him even surlier than usual.' He grinned for a moment before continuing. 'Lady Tiki though…she might, if only to get away from her brother's said surliness.'

Ever since Nowi had given birth to her very first child several weeks prior, a daughter that she had named Nah for reasons known only to her, the already very boisterous manakete had become a terror of motherly energy, whisking her way through the large house that her father had bought for her in a whirlwind of eccentricity, humming and singing at the top of her lungs and generally causing her husband to become tired long before night fell.

It was even worse for her father; Raye had been subjected to several random visits at the room that he was renting in a local tavern by Nowi, her husband and his new granddaughter, sometimes in the middle of the night when he was asleep. Without fail, he would then soon be seen tearing out of the tavern, jumping onto the nearest roof and leaping into the air before transforming and flying away as fast as he could. Unfortunately for him, Nowi would then hand over Nah to Donnel and, with a mischievous smile on her face, chase after him in her own dragon form, making her father regret ever giving her one of his spare dragonstones.

Now, Chrom and Robin were both snickering as they remembered the most recent instance of one of Nowi's random visits where her father had been seen resigning himself to her attentions and having Nah shoved into his arms by a smiling Nowi.

Phila looked over at them now, her eyes narrowed. 'What are you two laughing about?' she barked. 'We are in the middle of planning!'

'Sorry, Phila, just remembering an amusing joke,' Chrom assured the stern looking woman. He then cleared his throat and returned to a more serious demeanour. 'Right, so…how many soldiers will we be taking?'

'Not that many,' Emmeryn insisted. 'I was thinking just the Shepherds and Phila's pegasus unit would be enough.'

'And remember the last time we brought similar small forces to a 'diplomatic' meeting?' Chrom reminded his sister pointedly. 'We almost died!'

'Yes, but this time Gangrel is not the ruler of Plegia and we will be going to Ferox!' Emmeryn replied, just as pointedly. 'And Plegia hasn't bothered us since; in fact, they've gone out of their way to strengthen the peace that is now between our two countries!'

Indeed, over the past two years, several envoys from Plegia had made their way to Ylisstol with encouraging words from their remaining nobility. In fact, the last envoy who had visited the capitol of Ylisse only a few weeks ago had come with the news that the Plegian council had finally elected a new king. This king, though Emmeryn had yet to meet the man in person, had assured her in the letter he had sent with his envoy that he was determined to maintain the peace between their kingdoms. So far, those words seemed to be holding true.

'That may be so, your grace, but your brother has a point,' Phila said now. 'I would feel more comfortable if we took, in addition to the Shepherds and my pegasus unit, twenty of the royal guard and a detachment of at least forty regular foot soldiers.'

'Phila…we don't even HAVE that many soldiers anymore, remember?' Emmeryn pointed out and it was true; even when they had been fighting Plegia, Emmeryn had refused to reinstate the army of Ylisse, leaving her countries armed forces at a very low number. The Shepherds and Phila's now depleted Pegasus knights were the only real military force available to fight against Ylisse's foes.

'Maybe you should have reinstated the army, sis,' Chrom said hesitantly. 'I mean…Ylisse could have been invaded by Plegia if my Shepherds had fallen to Gangrel and you wouldn't have had any forces to resist him with.' He shared a look with Phila before continuing. 'Perhaps it's time that we begin recruiting for the army again?'

Emmeryn looked determined as she said, 'No, Chrom; peace should always be the first choice, not war! I am confident that we can reason with Walhart and change his mind about invading Ylisse and Ferox!'

'Emmeryn, Walhart may be different than Gangrel, but he is also more dangerous!' Chrom argued loudly. 'For Naga's sake, he's already conquered most of Valm, killed Emperor Ren'lo and almost killed the Voice of Naga herself and her brother, a man who I've seen singlehandedly destroy an entire army!' Chrom shook his head in frustration at the stubborn expression that was still on his sister's face. 'Not only that, but from all reports the man instils an almost religiously fanatical fervour in his followers! He is not a man to reason with, because the only thing that he cares about is conquest!'

'Anyone can change, Chrom!' Emmeryn replied stubbornly. 'I have to believe that Walhart can be turned from his path of destruction!'

Chrom sighed impatiently, but before he could continue to argue, Robin stepped forwards and put a calming hand on her husband's shoulder. When he looked at her, she shook her head slightly, signalling that it was pointless to continue.

When Chrom had thrown his hands into the air in defeat and stalked off, the tactician turned to Emmeryn.

'It is good to have such beliefs, your grace, but I would still recommend utilizing caution when dealing with someone so focussed on the path of war,' Robin said in a calm tone. 'Chrom is simply being pragmatic, not argumentative against your idea of peace.'

'Sure…that's what's going on…' Chrom grumbled under his breath, but went silent when his wife glanced warningly back at him before returning her attention to his sister.

'I appreciate the sentiment if that's the case, Robin,' Emmeryn sighed. 'Either way, I shall push for peace as long as I can. If it comes to it, then I shall let Chrom take charge if war truly is the only way.'

'That's all I ask, sis,' Chrom replied.

()()()()()()()()()()

Two days later, Chrom looked around at the countryside of Ylisse as he and Emmeryn led the procession of Shepherds and Royal Guard down the road, Phila and her Pegasus Knights flying overhead alongside Raye and Sahria. Tiki was riding a horse beside Nowi, having chosen to stay on solid ground with her niece.

The prince glanced back at Robin now, who had a slightly sad look on her face and dropped back to ride alongside her as well.

'Hey, she'll be alright,' Chrom said gently to his wife. He then nodded his head at the adult Lucina who was riding a few feet away. 'We won't let her future turn out like it did; we will change it so that she can live a better life.'

Robin sighed. 'I know…but I still reserve the right to worry about those close to me.' The tactician then urged her horse to ride alongside her future daughter. 'Hey, Lucina…how are you?'

'I'm alright, mother,' Lucina smiled. 'Although I will admit that I'm a little nervous; we will soon be encountering Walhart, which started a war that nearly cost Ylisse everything, in my time anyway.'

'Do you think it'll be different this time around?'

Lucina frowned thoughtfully. 'Well…to be honest, this timeline has already changed so much that I can't be too sure; in this one we saved Aunt Emmeryn and have Lord Raye, Lady Tiki, Lady Yana and Sahria with us, who were never in mine if you recall. Then there's the fact that _this_ Walhart apparently has legendary weapons that equal, or even surpass, father's Falchion.' A worried look crossed the blunette's face. 'I only hope that we can still prevail against the Conqueror despite that.'

'I'm sure we will, Lucy,' Robin assured her daughter. 'Like you said, we have Raye, Tiki, Sahria and Yana; we already know how strong our three manaketes are, as well as Nowi, and Yana is possible the best healer we have.' The tactician reached over and put a hand on Lucina's shoulder. 'We won't fail; I'll make sure of it.'

'Your tactics have always led us well, mother,' Lucina smiled. 'I'm probably just worrying over nothing.'

Mother and daughter smiled at each other, both hoping that they would be able to avoid the horrible future that Lucina had come from.

()()()()()()()()()()

'Gods, I forgot how cold it is up here!' Chrom grumbled as he looked up at the Longfort that loomed above him.

His wife grinned, gesturing to the bare arm that her husband was sporting. 'Maybe you'd be warmer if you had FULL clothing?'

'But what about Vaike?' Chrom whined. 'Why aren't you teasing him when he's barely wearing anything himself? I at least have a shirt!'

Unfortunately for Chrom Vaike, who was standing a few feet away, hear him and laughed. 'Is the Vaike's rival feeling a widdle cold? Maybe you should have your wife knit you some warmer clothes!'

'He'll have to go without; I don't knit!' Robin smirked.

Chrom shook his head. 'Remind me again why I keep you both around?'

'Because you love me!' was the prompt response from both of the prince's companions.

The prince sighed, but looked around when he heard a giggle from behind him and caught Lucina quickly covering her mouth.

'Something funny?' he grunted.

'No, nothing at all father!' Lucina replied hurriedly, quickly avoiding her father's attention and determinedly starting up a conversation with Sahria.

Chrom rolled his eyes, slightly jealous of the scarf that his daughter had wrapped around her neck which had been a birthday present from his sister's own daughter.

Before the prince could retort, he was distracted by a shout from the top of the wall.

'So, you return, Prince Chrom?' the voice shouted. Chrom cringed when he saw that it was Raimi, the same guard captain who had almost killed him the last time he had been at the Longfort. 'I'll have the gate open in just a moment!'

'She seems nice,' Emmeryn commented as Raimi's form withdrew from the top of the wall.

'Yeah, when she's not chucking spears at you,' Chrom muttered.

'At least this time we don't look so much like brigands,' Robin pointed out. 'That's always a plus in my books!'

'And as long as SOMEONE doesn't destroy part of their wall this time…' Chrom said, glancing back over his shoulder at Sahria with his eyebrows raised.

'Hey, I apologised, didn't I?' the manakete grumbled.

'You destroyed part of the Longfort?' Lucina asked curiously.

'Not intentionally…I thought that the wall would be able to handle my dragon form,' Sahria replied, rolling her eyes. 'Turns out it couldn't and anyway they fixed it a few weeks later so it doesn't even matter anymore!'

'Even so, sweetie, perhaps save your transformations for a large open space,' Yana suggested, patting her daughter on the shoulder.

'Come on, not you too, mama!'

As the others laughed, the huge gates slowly opened and Raimi strode out, raising a hand in greeting.

'Right, your highnesses, you can come on through now,' the woman said roughly. 'I've also been instructed by Great Khan Flavia to escort you to Regna Ferox so I shall be accompanying you.'

'Just like old times, captain!' Chrom grinned.

Raimi ignored the prince's words and instead gestured for the Ylisseans to make their way through the gates, instructing a contingent of Feroxi knights to take up positions beside them. Once the procession was on the other side of the wall, the Feroxi captain turned and nodded at the knights still on the wall, with one of them lowering the gates by pulling on a chain. With that, Raimi led the way on the journey towards the capital of Ferox, a journey that would prove uneventful thanks to the fact that Ferox was no longer under attack by the Plegians and had enjoyed the two year period of peace following Gangrel's death almost as much as Ylisse had.

()()()()()()()()()()

A week later, Emmeryn and Chrom found themselves in the throne room of Regna Ferox, a familiar feeling for the Shepherds who accompanied them.

'Heh, remember how you assumed that the Khan we were going to meet was going to be a man?' Robin smiled. 'Boy, were you wrong!'

'Yeah, well…this time I won't be making that mistake!' Chrom replied determinedly.

'I would certainly hope so!' Flavia's voice said from behind them, another situation familiar to the prince.

'Flavia, good to see you!' Chrom said smoothly, despite internally cringing when he hear the khan's voice. 'How have the years been treating you?'

The khan snorted. 'You make it sound like I'm an old crone or something, princeling!' She shook her head before continuing. 'But in answer to your question, it's been pretty boring; with Plegia defeated the only people we can really fight with is ourselves, and that gets tiring after a while.'

Flavia then noticed Tiki, who was standing beside Sahria. 'Hey, aren't you that Voice of Naga woman?'

The graceful manakete nodded and curtsied. 'Yes, I am Lady Tiki, Voice and daughter of Naga. It is a pleasure to meet you, Great Khan Flavia.'

Flavia grunted. 'Just call me Flavia; I don't really care for titles all that much. They're useful in some circumstances, but most of the time they can be kind of a hassle.' The khan then studied Tiki before continuing. 'You know…you kind of look like another manakete that was with Chrom when he was last here…'

'If you mean Raye, that would be because he's my brother,' Tiki smiled, immediately realising who the other woman was talking about.

'No shit? You're that guy's sister?' Flavia let out a whistle.

'You sound like you know him well?'

The khan let out a laugh. 'You could say that I suppose! Let's just say that your brother and I know each other a lot more than most people have ever known me and leave it at that.'

As a confused look appeared on the Voice's face, Emmeryn cleared her throat, 'Great Khan Flavia, I was rather hoping that we could discuss the situation with Valm soon…'

'Right, sorry; just got caught up with a great memory,' Flavia replied before frowning. 'And it's just Flavia, Exalt Emmeryn.'

'Er…very well…Flavia…' Emmeryn said hesitantly. 'In that case, you can just call me Emmeryn.'

'Was planning on doing that eventually anyway,' the khan shrugged. Flavia then went and sat on the huge throne that dominated the end of the room. 'Right, so the situation in Valm is pretty messy; Olivia should have told you that Rosanne fell not too long ago, but now I hear that Walhart took over a Valmese port city a few days before you arrived.' The khan looked grimly at the Ylisseans. 'The last I heard, he was preparing to set sail for Feroxi shores, and that he plans to land at Port Ferox.'

'Do you know how long it will be before he arrives?' Emmeryn asked, concern on her face.

Flavia considered the Exalt's question before replying. 'Depending on the weather, I'd say no more than two weeks.'

'Have you reinforced Port Ferox?' Chrom asked then.

'I've sent troops there, but from what I know of Walhart they might not be enough,' the khan sighed. 'I'd heard that he'd been injured and was forced to retreat after killing Emperor Ren'lo, but I guess he's recovered. More's the pity; whoever injured him should have gone for the head.'

Emmeryn and the other Ylisseans glanced at each other, but they all decided not to mention the fact that it had actually been Raye himself who had done the deed.

'In any case, Walhart has been on his warpath with even greater ferocity since he returned to the battlefield,' Flavia continued, not noticing the looks the Ylisseans shared amongst themselves. 'And with that in mind, there's someone here that needs to speak with you and who you might actually know.'

When Flavia nodded to Raimi, who had been standing beside a nearby door, the knight opened it. A moment later, a familiar man dressed in light blue clothing and a crisp white cravat walked into the room, followed by an unfamiliar woman with long light pink hair and wearing black armour.

'Greetings, my lords and ladies, it is I, the most archest of archers Virion!' the man declared, sinking into an elaborate bow before straightening and introducing his companion. 'And this charming young lady is my valued guard Lady Cherche!'

'It is a pleasure to meet you,' Cherche said in a soft voice, bowing slightly.

'Virion! We were wondering where you'd gotten to!' Chrom exclaimed, shaking the other man's hand. 'Sumia in particular has been concerned about you!' A few weeks after Sumia had given birth to Virion's daughter, the archer had disappeared without a word one night and had been unreachable for several months. 'Your wife was worried that you don't love her, you idiot!'

Virion looked guilty as he said, 'Far from it, my lord Chrom; I love Lady Sumia with every fibre of my being, but the situation in Rosanne demanded my immediate attention and so I was forced to leave as abruptly as I did!' The man sighed. 'Believe, if I could have contacted my darling wife, I would have!'

'Still, you could have told us; I would have asked Emmeryn to send some guards with you and extend an offer of help to the ruler of Rosanne at the same time.'

An awkward look replaced Virion's guilty expression then at Chrom's words. 'Well…you wouldn't have needed to do that, my good prince…'

'Why not?'

'…Because I am, or was, the duke of Rosanne…' the archer replied awkwardly.

A silence followed Virion's words before Chrom cried, 'Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!'

Emmeryn eyed the archer carefully. 'So you're proper title would be _Duke_ Virion of Rosanne, I take it?'

'Not any more, your grace; like I said, I am the FORMER Duke and ruler of Rosanne,' Virion reminded the Exalt. He then sighed and looked down. 'Actually…I stopped being the Duke of Rosanne before Walhart had even moved on my country.'

'How do you mean?' Chrom asked.

'I…fled Rosanne several months before I met you, Prince Chrom, when it became clear what Walhart's intentions were…' Virion admitted guiltily. 'Even then, that madman was attempting to take over Valm and I feared that my people would die for me defending our country, so I left to save them from that. But I would like to make it clear that I always intended to return once I'd found allies that could resist Walhart's march.'

Flavia grunted in disapproval. 'A ruler should stay beside his people despite the odds, but I do understand your situation; Walhart is someone who cannot be defeated by once country.'

'Indeed, Flavia, but I'm afraid that my people have gone past the point of forgiveness,' Virion replied. 'I soon learned after I returned to Rosanne that I've been labelled a traitor and that the Council has demanded I be brought in for trial.'

'Can't you just tell them why you left?' Robin asked.

'Only if I can actually gain assistance for my country, which is why I am here,' Virion replied. He then looked at Emmeryn before, much to everyone's surprise, sinking to his knees and fixing her with a pleading look.

'Exalt Emmeryn, ruler of Ylisse…I, Virion, the former duke of Rosanne humbly beg you to aid my country and, most importantly, my people!'

()()()()()()()()()()

 _So, the first true steps towards the Valmese War arc have finally been taken._

 _In this version, the War is going to be more brutal, what with the increased number of legendary weapons and manaketes present this time around, as well as the added wrinkle that Yana will soon realise her destiny as the Vessel of Naga, something that will certainly change the course of the war and the events after it._

 _I haven't decided whether or not to start killing off some of the characters now, since in my playthroughs I always, admittedly, played on Casual mode (and played Fates on Phoenix Causal as well) since I get way too attached to my units. I love to have stories end happily, with everyone surviving, but I do wonder if it would be better, no matter how hard it might be, to kill off a few of the Shepherds and OCs._

 _In regards to Yana, think of her as what Robin is for Grima; the perfect vessel that can contain the essence of a god (well, dragon, but in Fire Emblem that's basically the same thing). Also, in this timeline, it will obviously be different from Sahria's since she is here herself and knows about both her mother and Robin's eventual fates. How the young manakete will handle this is going to be interesting (at least if I write it good enough)._

 _Finally, I must apologise for the long wait between this chapter and the last one; I've been busy with another, more mainstream project that I hope will eventually come to something. I'm not abandoning Twin Destines, but there may be longer periods between uploads, so I apologise for that as well._

 _Ciao for now!_

 _P.S: There is a very small Avengers: Infinity War Easter egg somewhere in this chapter. If you can find it, I commend you. I only put it in as an afterthought since I recently bought the DVD version of the movie and absolutely loved it!_


	30. Chapter 25

-Chapter 25- Reinforcing Port Ferox and Relations-

Emmeryn looked surprised as Virion sank to his knees before her, glancing at Chrom with raised eyebrows. Her brother looked equally surprised, but nodded for Emmeryn to take the lead.

'Er…Lord Virion, please stand,' Emmeryn said, clearing her throat. 'There is no need to prostrate yourself before me.'

'Apologies, my dear Exalt, it is just that I am desperate enough to save my people that I will do anything to make sure that it happens,' Virion declared.

'And I have heard your request,' Emmeryn assured the former Rosanne duke. 'But I must confess, I am rather curious as to why you came Flavia before coming to myself or my brother.'

Virion looked apologetic as he replied, 'Because I was not sure how I would be received.' The man smiled ruefully. 'After all, I wormed my way into the ranks of the Shepherds without revealing my true identity and with ulterior motives, and there may have been chance that you would have branded me a traitor for abandoning my people or that I was simply a madman.'

'Well, when you put it like that…' Chrom joked, before wincing when his wife elbowed him in the side. Clearing his throat, the prince continued. 'Er, anyway…Virion, we wouldn't have done anything like that. You've proven yourself time and time again to be a valued and respected member of the Shepherds and if you felt otherwise then I apologise.'

'And I'm sure that Sumia would have understood,' Robin smiled. 'I mean, she did marry you and gave birth to your daughter. I feel like that would count for something.'

Virion smiled gratefully at his commander and tactician. 'I thank you, my lord and lady. Truly, it makes my heart swell with happiness to hear you say that!' With that, the former nobleman bowed extravagantly to Chrom and Robin.

Emmeryn smiled and spoke up. 'And if you really did need our help, then I see no reason not to give it to you.'

'You mean…?' Virion breathed, a hopeful look on his face.

'Yes, we will help you,' Emmeryn replied, but before Virion could celebrate, she raised a finger. 'BUT…I will not have Ylisse dragged too far into this war; I still believe that peace can be brokered. I will send my brother and the Shepherds with you to liberate your people, but that is ALL; they will not help you take the fight to Walhart.'

'That is all I ask, my dear Exalt!' Virion assured Emmeryn. 'With your help, I believe that I can rescue my people and bring peace to my land.'

'But still…Walhart needs to be dealt with one or another,' Chrom sighed. 'He won't stop UNTIL he's stopped.'

'And I WILL stop him, Chrom, but I shall do it my way,' Emmeryn replied firmly. 'My words shall be the sword I wield in this conflict, and I WILL make him see sense.'

'Ha, I like a woman who's determined!' Flavia chortled. 'Even if I do agree with your brother and that Walhart will only be stopped by force!'

'Sometimes a well-worded statement can be more effective than a physical one,' Emmeryn stated.

'Hey, as long as Walhart doesn't rampage across my lands I don't care how he's stopped or by whom,' the Great Khan shrugged. 'But remember; if we don't move now his forces will be landing at Port Ferox in a matter of days and by then it might be too late to do anything about it.'

Chrom clapped his hands. 'Well then, we better get to the port as soon as we can!'

()()()()()()()()()()()

The next day, Flavia had a surprise for Chrom and the Shepherds as they were about to move out.

'Yo prince, I've got someone who might be useful to you!' she announced. The Great Khan then gestured behind her where Chrom saw, much to his surprise, Raimi. 'I'm sending her with you; she's one of my best and I'd like one of my own people to help secure Port Ferox. Can't have Basilio be the only one with people in your ranks!'

'Er…is that want you want, Raimi?' Chrom asked, noting the slightly displease expression on the knights face. It reminded him of Phila, who would also be joining them at the behest of Emmeryn, despite the Pegasus Knight Commander's protestations.

Raimi snorted. 'It is not for me to decide when or where I am told to fight, it is simply my duty to obey.'

As Raimi joined the ranks of the Shepherds, Sahria grinned at the knight.

'Nice to see ya again, lady!' she greeted the Feroxi.

Raimi stared down at the manakete, who she towered a good foot over, and grunted, 'Oh…it's you.' Her eyes narrowed slightly as she remembered the last time she had seen the future princess. 'I hope you are more aware of your surrounding now.'

Sahria laughed. 'It's been two years, Raimi; you don't have to worry about any walls when I'm around now!'

'Hmph…!' the Feroxi knight grunted, looking doubtful. 'Either way, I shall be keeping a close eye on you, dragon.'

'Aw, I didn't know you cared!'

As the manakete and the knight conversed, Flavia had just spotted Raye standing next to his sister with Nowi clinging to his arm and had walked over to him.

'Hey, dragon-boy, nice to see you again,' the khan grinned, holding out a hand.

Raye returned the smile and shook the woman's hand. 'Yes, I was rather expecting you to say that.'

'Just so you know, there weren't any…'ramifications' for the last time we saw each other,' Flavia winked. She then looked down at Nowi, who was staring up at the khan with a curious look on her face. 'And who's this? Another woman?'

Raye quickly shook his head. 'No, gods no! This is Nowi, my daughter.'

The khan looked at him in surprise. 'What? You never mentioned having a daughter before.'

'Because I didn't know I had one at the time,' Raye explained. 'I only met her a few weeks after we'd left Regna Ferox.'

'Gotcha. Well anyway, it was nice seeing ya again, but I think this time we should just shake hands and leave it at that, eh?'

Neither of them saw the look of comprehension, followed by the look of disapproval, that crossed Tiki's face as she realised what the two of them were talking about.

Raye grinned. 'Probably for the best.'

As Flavia walked off, humming to herself, Tiki tapped her brother on the shoulder and when he looked around he saw a disapproving look on her face.

'Er…what?' Raye asked.

Tiki shook her head and sighed. 'I can't believe that you would do something like that, big brother.'

'What?'

'You know exactly what I'm talking about,' Tiki replied sternly. 'You and the Khan know each other quite well, don't you?'

Raye sighed as he realised what his sister was getting at. 'Okay fine, Flavia and I may…'know' each other a bit more than I know other people, but in my defence that was before I knew about Nowi. Also it was to help secure Ylisse's alliance with Ferox, but that's beside the point.'

'And whose idea was that?' Tiki asked suspiciously.

'I'd rather not say,' Raye replied, holding his head up with dignity.

As Tiki sighed again, the manaketes didn't notice a certain dark haired mage who was listening to their conversation from behind a nearby haystack. They also didn't notice the dark look the mage sent at Flavia's retreating form, nor the way an evil smile spread across her face as she slipped away.

Luckily for Flavia, she was spared the full wrath of a certain jealous woman by the fact that Chrom ordered the Shepherds to march out a few minutes after she had announced that she was sending Raimi with them. However, a few days after they had left, the Great Khan soon noticed that many of her weapons were blunt and that, no matter how hard she tried, she wasn't able to sharpen them. Eventually, she was forced to throw most of them away, deciding that the weapons had simply reached the end of their usefulness.

'That kinda pissed me off though,' Flavia complained to Emmeryn, who had remained behind to help Flavia with certain administrative matters. 'Some of those weapons were my favourites!'

Emmeryn, who had absolutely no idea about weapons or how attached someone could get to them, simply patted the khan on the shoulder in response.

()()()()()()()()()

On the third day of their march, Port Ferox finally came into view. As they approached the city's gates, the guards saw them and quickly took up arms. However, they lowered them when Raimi stepped forward and greeted them.

'Ho, Captain Raimi, what brings you here?' one of the guards called.

'We're here to reinforce you lot before Walhart arrives!' Raimi explained. 'Now, open the gate and let us through!'

A few moments later, the gates slowly swung open to admit them and the Shepherds marched through into the port. When the last of them were through, the gates closed behind them with a deep boom.

'Alright, Raimi, you know this place; where should we start?' Chrom asked as he dismounted.

'Indeed, it would benefit us to prepare as much as possible before Walhart arrives,' Phila nodded.

Raimi considered the prince's words before replying. 'Since the city has walls around most of it, we should concentrate on fortifying the harbour itself, since that's the only spot that the Valmese will be able to land.'

'What about outside the city?' Robin asked.

'Do not worry, my lady, the walls of Port Ferox have never been breached,' the knight-captain assured the tactician. 'They are defended by siege engines, mages and knights and even Walhart himself would have trouble taking them.'

'Even so, it's a valid question,' Chrom pointed out. 'You're probably basing your assumptions on past conflicts, but with all respect Walhart was not among them.' He gestured towards Raye and Tiki. 'I mean, he nearly killed those two, and they're no push-overs.'

A frown appeared on Raimi's face as the prince's words sank in. Finally, she said, 'I…suppose I can ask the commander of the guard if there's anything else that we can do to reinforce the walls…' She then glared over at Sahria. 'Just keep _her_ away from them.'

As Sahria rolled her eyes, Chrom nodded and began the process of directing the Shepherds to perform certain tasks. Raimi and Phila assisted him, with Robin chiming in every now and then, as the command group walked around the city while the Shepherds went about their assigned tasks. Whenever they came across a part of the city they thought needed some extra defences, they would send the Feroxi messenger who was accompanying them to give their suggestions to the Shepherds that were free.

Finally, after the fourth day since they had arrived, the defences were in place. The Shepherds and Feroxi had placed numerous wooden spike-barriers along the piers of Port Ferox's harbour, and constructed makeshift walls that blocked off the stairs the led to the city from them. As for the wall, there was now a wide and deep moat which had been dug out by the four manaketes that were with the defenders and was connected to the ocean so that the water naturally flowed in. At the bottom of the moat, and before they had let the water in, the Shepherds had embedded numerous wooden spikes into the sand and had reinforced them with iron tips. With this new moat, Chrom and the others hoped that Walhart would be forced to attack from the piers where they would be met with the majority of the city's defenders and not spread his attack out along the walls.

'Pretty good job if I say so myself,' Chrom commented as he looked over the new defences.

'We'll still have some problems if he brings a lot of wyvern riders,' Robin reminded him before looking apologetically at Phila. 'Not that I don't trust you and your pegasus knights to handle it, but you guys are few in number.'

'I appreciate your concern, Lady Robin, but rest assured my knights and I are prepared to give everything we have to this defence,' Phila replied.

'And they won't be alone in the skies either, Robin,' Raye grunted from where he was leaning against a wall. 'I don't know about my daughter, sister or apprentice, but I plan to use my dragon form as much as possible in this fight.'

'Just watch out for that maniac you told us about,' Chrom reminded him, referring to the Iduna, the slightly insane follower of Walhart who the manakete had taken an arm off. 'You may have taken Durandal from her, but who knows how many dragon killing weapons that Walhart might actually have, or how many fighters like her he's still got up his sleeves.'

'Believe me, I won't make the mistake of underestimating Walhart or her again,' Raye growled. 'I still have a score to settle with that brat for what she and her friend did to my sister!'

'As long as you're careful, that's all we ask,' Chrom replied. The prince then looked around when he heard Lucina's voice call out to him.

'Father, we have completed securing the western part of the city,' the future princess announced.

'Good job, Lucina,' Chrom said, smiling at his daughter and eliciting a blush from her. 'With that, all of the districts are now secure!'

'Now all we have to do is wait…' Raimi grumbled.

()()()()()()()()()

As they waited over the next few days for Walhart to arrive, some of the Shepherds took the opportunity to strengthen their bonds or, in some cases, actually start them. Phila and Raimi, to no one's surprise at all, especially seemed to immediately bond. What terrified the other Shepherds the most, however, was when the two women soon joined forces with Frederick to make sure that their fellows were prepared and in good condition for the upcoming battle. The citizens of Port Ferox, those that remained anyway since most of them had already been evacuated before the Shepherds had arrived, were soon treated to the sight of several of the Shepherds panting through them, urged on by at least one of the three taskmasters. Even Lucina and Sahria, who even though they were the youngest members of the Shepherds were actually considered the two most dedicated of their number apart from Frederick, were soon trying to hide whenever they heard Frederick, Raimi or Phila calling for them. Of course their efforts, and those of the others, were in vain because all three of their torturers seemed to have an almost supernatural ability to find any wayward Shepherd and haul them out of their hiding places to participate in their daily routines.

'Why…why are they trying to kill us…?' Stahl panted as he collapsed beside his fellow Shepherds after the twentieth lap around the walls they had just been forced to do. 'At this rate Walhart is going to be able to just walk in and finish us off!'

'Yeah…we've only got…about four more days before…that guy gets here…!' Sully complained, gingerly lowering herself down onto a nearby bench. 'I mean, I like to exercise as much as the next guy, but this is too much!'

'It does represent an interesting dilemma,' Miriel commented, her face red even as she forced herself not to faint. 'Perhaps they are attempting to assist us in breaking through our limitations?'

'Actually, I think they're assisting themselves in breaking US!' Gaius grumbled, sticking a lollipop in his mouth as he spoke. 'If I knew that this was the sort of thing I had to look forward to, I wouldn't have come along!'

'But Yana's here,' Stahl reminded the sweet-toothed thief. 'Would you really have let her go off to war without you?'

Gaius thought for a moment before sighing. 'Dammit, good point; there's no way in hell I'd have let my wife leave me behind.'

The others then looked over as Tharja walked by them and they saw to their surprise that the dark mage looked completely energised despite having also been forced to participate in that day's exercise.

'Hey, what gives, Gloomy?' Gaius demanded. 'Why aren't you collapsing like the rest of us?'

Tharja stared at the thief for a moment before replying, 'Simple: the Tharja you saw wasn't me. When I heard those psychopaths were making everyone go through their sick idea of fun I immediately came up with a spell that allowed me to make a copy of myself.'

At these words, Miriel looked at Tharja interestedly. 'Fascinating…I assume of course that it has no mind of its own?'

'Indeed; all it has is basic movement functions,' Tharja replied uninterestedly. 'But to an outsider it looks and acts exactly like the real me, albeit without the talking.'

'That's probably a blessing,' Gaius muttered under his breath. Luckily for him, Tharja didn't hear his comment.

Miriel, on the other hand, had become very interested in Tharja's new spell.

'Perhaps you would be willing to teach me how to perform such a spell?' the bespeckled mage asked then.

Tharja scoffed. 'And what would be in it for me?'

The other mage considered the dark mage's question before replying, 'Nothing. The benefits of such an act would be entirely in my favour.'

Tharja blinked at the blunt, honest answer she had been given. She then grudgingly said, 'Well…I suppose it wouldn't be the end of the world if I taught you how to do it…' The dark mage glared at Miriel. 'So long as you don't try to use this as a way to make friends with me.'

'I would never presume to do so, Lady Tharja,' Miriel assured her. 'In any case, I appreciate you agreeing to my request.' The mage then swayed on the spot. 'But perhaps we should continue this conversation after I have regained consciousness?'

With that, Miriel collapsed onto her back, completely unconscious as the effects of the torturous laps finally caught up with her.

'You know…she's probably the weirdest smart person I've ever met…' Gaius commented.

()()()()()()()()()()

Meanwhile, Chrom and Robin were speaking with the commander of the Port Ferox Guard, a huge man named Wallace.

'How are the guards?' Chrom asked the Feroxi as the three of them stood on top of the wall and looked out over the ocean.

'Ha, you don't need to worry about them, princeling!' Wallace boomed. 'Me and my boys will be ready when that bastard decides to show his face here!' The man then patted his weapon, an equally massive warhammer. 'Bonebreaker here is also looking forward to smashing in some Valmese heads!'

'That's good to hear,' Chrom chuckled. 'In all honesty though, I'm uncertain if we'll be able to hold him off indefinitely.'

Wallace laughed and slapped the prince on the back, almost catapulting him off the wall and forcing Robin to grab her husband's arm before he was. 'Don't worry about a thing, Prince Chrom; all we have to do is hold him off long enough for the Great Khan to organize the rest of the Feroxi army and bring them here!'

'Even so, we'd have to do that for a very long time,' Robin pointed out. 'And it definitely won't be easy.'

'That's what makes the best fights!' Wallace laughed. 'And even if we fall, I'll be damned if I don't take at least one hundred of the bastards with me!'

'I certainly hope that it won't come to that, Wallace,' Chrom sighed.

The Feroxi captain turned serious for a moment as he said, 'In my experiences, princeling, if you get to the point that you have to _hope_ for a good outcome, you've already lost.' The massive man then grinned. 'So, as long as you fight in the moment and don't think too much about what might happen, then you can be ready for whatever comes your way!'

'That…actually makes sense…' Robin mused.

'Of course it does; I said it!' Wallace boomed.

As the Feroxi captain slapped Chrom one last time and walked away, Robin sidled up to her husband and, whispering in his ear, said, 'Are we sure that Vaike's not related to that guy?'

'Naga, I hope not!' Chrom shuddered. 'Imagine if those two become best friends! It would be a nightmare!'

Robin laughed and wrapped her arms around Chrom's neck. 'Whatever comes, though, just know that I will do everything I can to protect you and the Shepherds.'

Chrom put his arms around his wife's waist and kissed her lightly on the lips before pulling back and smiling. 'I know. Just don't push yourself okay? I'm already worrying that Frederick, Raimi and Phila are going to reduce the numbers we have at our disposal; I really don't want to have to worry about you too.'

The tactician laughed softly and rested her head against her husband's chest.

'I promise…'

()()()()()()()()()()

As Chrom and Robin enjoyed their brief moment of peace, in another part of Port Ferox Tharja had left the other Shepherds to pursue her new routine: stalking Raye through the streets of the city. Having learnt from her little incident with Nowi, she had devised a hex that masked her presence from a manakete's heightened senses and was now able to follow the object of her infatuation without fear of being caught.

Currently, she was hiding behind a pillar as she watched Raye speak with Tiki, straining her ears so that she was able to hear them properly.

'I'm a little worried, sis,' she heard Raye say now. 'I mean, Walhart had three of the weapons used during the Scouring. Chrom's right; who knows if he only had those particular three?'

'Do you think we stand a chance if he has more?' Tiki asked worriedly. 'Especially if he's given them to people like that Iduna woman?'

Raye grunted. 'Perhaps…I'm just thankful that he didn't seem to have them with him at the time, otherwise we probably would have both died.'

Tiki was silent for a while before speaking again. 'I fear that, in this conflict, the Shepherds and Feroxi may be outmatched.'

'Yeah, I was thinking the same thing…' Raye muttered. He then sighed. 'But I don't see any way that we can tip the scales, at least slightly, in our favour.'

Raye's sister hesitated before replying, 'What…if there was a way we could get reinforcements?'

'What do you mean?'

'I don't know if you remember it, but there's always…the Outrealms…' Tiki replied cautiously. 'And the Einherjar…'

At the mention of the Outrealms and the Einherjar, both of which he certainly remembered, Raye's eyes narrowed. 'Tiki, you know as well as I do that the Outrealms are a dangerous place. Not even mother was comfortable when she was living there.'

'But I'm sure Uncle Hubba…'

'NO!' Raye said firmly. 'As much as I would love to see that old man again, we cannot risk an even greater evil coming through the gates should we open them!' He blanched. 'I really don't want to think what might happen if that madman Medeus or poor Idunn came through them!'

'But if we don't at least try to get the help of Uncle Hubba and his Einherjar, then this world might fall to ruin!' Tiki argued. 'At the very least, Uncle Hubba might be able to give us some advice on how to counter the Scouring weapons!' She gestured around them, indicating the city they were standing in. 'All of this, something that we were sworn to protect, will be destroyed and everything and everyone that we have lost will have been for nothing! Would you really be able to live with yourself if that happened, knowing that you could have done something to prevent it but didn't?'

Raye was silent as his sister spoke, a shadowed look on his face, but when Tiki stopped speaking, he sighed.

'No…you're right…' he admitted grudgingly. 'Even though I once turned my back on the world out of my own selfishness, I still feel the need to protect it…' He then looked at his sister. 'Do you truly think that the only way we can win against Walhart is if we go into the Outrealms and find help, either from Uncle Hubba and his Einherjar or elsewhere?'

'I do,' Tiki replied simply, a determined look on her face.

Raye sighed heavily. 'Then I guess there's nothing for it.' He then looked at her pointedly. 'But the person you really have to convince is mother; she's the only one that has the power to open the Outrealm Gates and I doubt that she'll be very pleased with your idea.'

'Trust me, I can be persuasive when I need to be,' Tiki smiled. 'After all, I just got you to change your mind on the very same subject!'

'Yeah, good point,' Raye grumbled, though he returned the smile.

As the two manakete siblings walked off, Tharja remained in her hiding spot for a moment, musing on what she had just heard, before slipping out from behind the pillar and quietly following them.

()()()()()()()()()

 _Well, the Outrealms are about to make their grand appearance and will play a much bigger part in this story than in the game._

 _In regards to them, I was always planning on including them, but never really settled on the how. I eventually came up with two ideas: I could either have them as their own story (a partner piece to Twin Destinies much like the one I plan to do that involves the OCs), or simply have them as either Interlude Chapters or full chapters in the story proper. What do you guys think?_

 _To explain how Hubba is going to fit into the 'lore' of this version of Fire Emblem it's basically this: Hubba actually found Naga as a hatchling and raised her in the Outrealms before she decided to leave to lead the rest of the Divine Dragons. I'm not entirely sure if there is any actual evidence of Naga's really early life (the earliest thing I know about her is her history as the leader of the Divine Dragons), but this is how I will be spinning it. Hopefully it's acceptable._

 _Finally, yep, I did it: I made Raimi and Phila actual characters this time around. Why Raimi in particular, I have no idea, but the fact that she and Sahria will probably have interesting things to say to one another (what with their few interactions in the past going very wrong for both of them), will keep things interesting. Also, now Frederick has two more people to assist him in torturing the other Shepherds, which can only be a good thing (for us, not the Shepherds)._

 _Ciao for now!_

 _P.S: speaking of Raimi and Phila, here's their metaphorical game profiles!_

 **-Raimi, Commander of the Longfort-**

 **Class-** General **Sub Classes-** Knight, Fighter, Cavalier, Mercenary

 **Unique Skills-**

 **Stoic to the Last-** PreventsRaimi from being instant killed when at full health and grants +10 to HP/Def/Res. When she reaches 1 HP, she heals 5 HP at the start of every turn afterward until she reaches half her original health.

 **Khan's Talisman-** Grants Raimi immunity to all **A** class or lower ranged spell damage/magic effects.

 **Eye on You-** If Sahria is on the battlefield, both Raimi and Sahria gain +2/to Mov and Sahria gains +5 to Def/Res as long as they remain within 3 squares of each other.

 **Unique Weapon-**

 **Raimi's Spear (spear)- Rank-** N/A **Uses-** N/A **Mt-** 10 **Hit-** 70 **Crt-** 25 **Rng-** 1-2

 **Effects-** Raimi only. Effective against Armour and Beasts. Grants +3 Spd/Skl.

 **Starting Stats-**

 **Class-** General **Lvl-** 10 **HP-** 70 **Str-** 35 **Mag-** 0 **Skl-** 30 **Spd-** 35 **Lck-** 30 **Def-** 40 **Res-** 40 **Mov-** 6

 **Growth-**

 **HP-** 100% **Str-** 100% **Mag-** 0% **Skl-** 50% **Spd-** 60% **Lck-** 30% **Def-** 60% **Res-** 50%

 **Quotes-**

' _ **For the Feroxi!'**_ _when initiating an unsupported attack._

' _ **Let's show them our mettle!'**_ _when initiating a supported attack._

' _ **I will be your shield!'**_ _when guarding an ally._

' _ **You idiot girl!'**_ _when guarding Sahria._

' _ **Feel the fury of a Feroxi!'**_ _Crit quote 1._

' _ **My spear shall spell your doom!'**_ _Crit quote 2._

' _ **No…Ferox…needs me…!'**_ _Death quote 1._

' _ **I…blame that…damn…girl…!'**_ _Death quote when dying while paired up with Sahria._

 **-Phila, Commander of Ylisse's Winged Orders-**

 **Class-** Sky Lord (can use staves) **Sub Classes-** Pegasus Knight, Cavalier, Mercenary, Cleric

 **Unique Skills-**

 **Exalted Guardian-** If Emmeryn is on the field, Phila gains +10 to Def/Res and +3 Mov and if supporting/paired up with Emmeryn will always guard, but will take 25% of the possible damage.

 **Sky Sniper-** Allows Phila to use bows.

 **Veteran of the Skies-** Nullifies the advantage that Wind magic, bows and beast killers have against fliers.

 **Unique Weapon-**

 **Guardian's Vow (spear)- Rank-** N/A **Uses-** N/A **Mt-** 15 **Hit-** 100 **Crt-** 20 **Rng-** 1-3

 **Effects-** Phila only. Grants immunity to debilitating effects such as poison, silence etc. Grant +5 Def/Res.

 **Quotes-**

' _ **For the Exalt and Ylisse!'**_ _when initiating an unsupported attack._

' _ **Together we are unstoppable!'**_ _when initiating a supported attack._

' _ **Eyes open!'**_ _when guarding an ally._

' _ **Prepare to face the wrath of Ylisse's finest!'**_ _Crit quote 1._

' _ **I shall be your death!'**_ _Crit quote 2._

' _ **My Exalt…I've…failed you…!'**_ _Death quote 1._

' _ **Emmeryn…please forgive me…!'**_ _Death quote when paired with Emmeryn._

' _ **Your Grace…NO!'**_ _when Emmeryn is slain while paired up with Phila._


	31. Chapter 26

-Chapter 26- Battle for Port Ferox (Part One)-

The first anyone knew that Walhart's fleet was finally reaching the shores of Ferox was when one of the lookouts spotted the ships on the horizon one early morning.

Squinting for a moment to make sure that his eyes weren't deceiving him, the guard then urgently began ringing the tower bell, yelling, 'Ships on the horizon!'

Hearing the bell, Chrom jolted from where he had been sitting playing a card game with Wallace in one of the port's barracks and quickly grabbed Falchion from its sheath.

'Shepherds, to the wall!' he shouted and sprinted from the building with Robin and Lucina close behind him.

()()()()()()()()()

'Well, here we go again,' Raye sighed as he strode casually through the streets. 'Great…'

'Don't worry papa, we can't lose!' Nowi declared cheerfully as she skipped beside her father.

'Just don't go too crazy, Nowi,' the older manakete said fondly. He then glanced at his sister who was also with them. 'That goes for you too, Tiki.'

The Voice of Naga smirked. 'Come now, brother, we both know who the more mature sibling is!'

'Whoever it is, it isn't you!' Raye smirked back.

The three manaketes laughed as they continued on their way towards the wall, taking the now very brief moment of peace to enjoy themselves before the inevitable battle began.

As usual, they didn't spot the shape of Tharja accompanying them from a few feet behind them, nor did they hear her silent vow to slay anyone foolish enough to try and harm her beloved.

()()()()()()()()()

'Come on, let's get this party started!' Vaike crowed, slapping Miriel on the back in his eagerness as he and his wife joined the gathering of Shepherds on the wall. 'The Vaike is totally gonna kill more of those Valmese morons than his rival!'

'Ha, you'll and the princeling are both delusional if you think that you're gonna get anywhere near as many as me, boy!' Wallace boomed, having overheard the rather loud boast from the fighter.

'Just try and beat the Vaike, old man, and see where that gets ya!' Vaike replied, roaring with laughter at the notion that there would be someone more skilled at combat than he was.

'Can you please go at least one minute without the need to shout, husband?' Miriel sighed.

Vaike scoffed and patted his wife on the shoulder in pity. 'Miriel, ya just don't understand how the mind of a man works! If the Vaike don't win, then that's just a sin!'

Miriel looked at her husband in surprise. 'That was a surprisingly coherent sentence, Vaike, and it even made sense!' She peered at Vaike intently for a moment. 'Perhaps I indeed need to study how the mind of a man works…such a shame that I cannot simply study it directly.'

'Trust me, I don't think you'd want to do that,' Chrom muttered.

()()()()()()()()()()

'Sahria, hurry up!' Lucina panted as she sprinted through the streets, dragging her partner by the hand as she did so. 'My father needs us!'

'I could have just flown us there!' Sahria complained, trying to keep her balance. 'I AM a dragon after all!'

'And risk destroying half the city along the way? I don't think so!' Raimi growled as she jogged along beside them; true to her word, the Feroxi knight had made it her mission to keep an eye on the young manakete which had made it very awkward for the two young lovers.

'I might NOT have, y'know!' Sahria cried in protest.

'Hmph!'

()()()()()()()()()()()

'Quick, put your clothes back on!' Yana said hurriedly as she quickly used a cloth to clean herself before throwing on her cleric robes.

She and Gaius had been having a rather intimate moment that had involved a pot of honey, rope and several of the thief's sweets placed on strategic parts of Yana's body when the tower bell had started ringing and stopped them just as Gaius was about to lick some of the honey off of his wife's breasts. Naturally, this annoyed the thief somewhat.

'Of all the times…!' Yana's husband grumbled, slipping his pants on and securing them.

Yana grinned. 'Hey, we know that we EVENTUALLY get to finish; Sahria's proof of that.'

'Nah, that's not what I'm complaining about.'

'Then what is it?'

A mischievous smirk appeared on Gaius' face as he slapped the cleric on the rear. 'I'm just annoyed that we sacrificed my candy in vain!'

Yana laughed and playfully kissed her husband on the cheek. 'How about next time we lock ourselves in our room and don't come out until we're done?'

'Holding you to that, babe,' Gaius laughed and followed his wife as she sprinted out of the room.

()()()()()()()()()()

'Alright, pegasus knights; mount up and follow me!' Phila ordered and pulled herself up onto the saddle of her pegasus and readied her spear.

As the rest of the pegasus knights that had accompanied Phila and the Shepherds followed suit, Cordelia and Sumia nodded at each other before getting onto their own pegasi.

'I'm glad that we have the commander with us,' Sumia commented as she urged her mount to stand beside Cordelia's. 'I don't know how well off we'd be without her!'

'I know what you mean,' Cordelia agreed. 'Commander Phila's presence gives me a confidence boost whenever I see her in the skies.'

'Why do I feel like an outsider right now?' Cherche, who had been invited to fly alongside the pegasus knights by Phila herself, commented.

'Sorry Cherche, we just meant…' Cordelia said hurriedly, trailing off when she didn't know what to say.

Cherche smiled. 'I'm kidding, Lady Cordelia.'

'Enough talking back there!' they then heard Phila bark, immediately silencing whatever response that the red headed pegasus knight was about to deliver.

When she was satisfied that her knights were secure in their saddles, Phila gently dug her heels into her pegasus' flanks. In response, the winged horse spread its wings before leaping into the air and flying towards the wall, it's fellows following a few seconds later.

()()()()()()()()()()

From a different part of the city, a hooded figure strode calmly through the streets.

'So…the moment will soon arrive for me to make my presence known…' the figure muttered to themselves. 'Kinda wish the others were here, but whatever.'

As they headed in the direction of the wall the figure readied a magnificent bow, checking to make sure that it was in good condition.

'Soon, the enemy will wish they never got to know me…'

()()()()()()()()()()

'How long until they get here?' Chrom asked Wallace.

The grizzled Feroxi veteran looked through his spyglass for a moment before lowering it and replying, 'No more than thirty minutes, I'd say.' Wallace stowed his spyglass back in his belt and gestured to a group of twenty Feroxi berserkers who were waiting nearby. 'Come on, boys; we're the welcoming party!'

'Good luck, Wallace,' Chrom said, shaking the other man's hand.

'Ha, Feroxi don't believe in luck, princeling!' Wallace scoffed, grinning. 'I'm not even entirely sure if it really exists!'

With that, the Feroxi commander led his berserker unit in the direction of a nearby staircase, their destination being the one unblocked gate that was to be the bottleneck in their defence.

'That man kind of reminds me of Basilio,' Robin commented. 'He's just as big, just as muscular and probably just as suicidal.'

Chrom considered his wife's words before grinning. 'Yeah, that's a fair comparison, but I think Wallace will be fine.'

'As long as we do our part anyway.'

'True…Shepherds, are you ready to do your part?' Chrom shouted. After an answering roar of agreement, Chrom turned back and winked at Robin. 'There you go; no need to worry!'

'It's when you say that that I start worrying!' Robin grumbled, but still smiled. 'Good thing I'm here!'

'I am also glad of your presence, mother,' Lucina spoke up then. 'I'm sure that your tactics will see us to victory!'

The tactician smiled affectionately at her future daughter. 'Thanks, sweetie. Just make sure that you also keep an eye on your father if I'm otherwise occupied.'

'Hey…!'

()()()()()()()()()()()()

Finally, after what felt like an eternity to the defenders of Port Ferox, Walhart's fleet came into view. The Shepherds tensed when they saw how many there were while the Feroxi grinned at the prospect of a good fight in their near futures.

'Gods…there must be dozens of them!' Chrom muttered nervously.

'About sixty, to be exact,' Miriel replied from where she was studying the ships closely. 'And ships that size are probably carrying around one hundred Valmese soldiers each, not counting any possible siege engines they may also be hiding.'

'So that's…at least six thousand enemies we've got to kill!' Kellam commented, causing everyone around him to jump. 'What?'

'Sorry Kellam didn't see you there!' Chrom exclaimed. The prince then realised what the near invisible knight had just said. 'Six THOUSAND?!'

'Bah, the more the merrier!' Vaike laughed, gripping his axe excitedly. 'The Vaike cannot wait!'

Chrom was saved from replying when the first Valmese ship drew up next to the nearest pier. A moment later a board was thrown over the side and groups of Valmese foot soldiers began disembarking even as several more ships began to slip into the port after it. Other ships drew off from the fleet either side of the city and began landing their troops beyond the walls.

'Glad we thought to dig that moat!' Robin said grimly as she watched the Valmese begin to march on the walls. 'Who do we have over there?'

'I think Sully and Virion are in charge of the east wall with support from Ricken, and Maribelle, Olivia and Gregor are watching over the west,' Chrom replied.

'What about the south?'

'Panne, Libra and Donnel should be the ones there as far as I know.'

Robin nodded. 'Let's just hope that our defences will hold.'

'They will, Robin,' Chrom assured his wife, though secretly he was wondering if his words would hold true in the face of so many enemies.

Before Robin could reply, there was a shouted warning before a flaming boulder suddenly came roaring down from the sky and struck the north wall of Port Ferox. It didn't manage to kill any of the defenders, but it now proved without a doubt that the Valmese had brought at least catapults with them.

'Siege machines!' Chrom shouted out unnecessarily.

'Ya think?' a nearby Feroxi muttered sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

()()()()()()()()()()

More flaming boulders followed the first and the defenders were forced to take cover. When the fifth hit the wall, Raye snorted in annoyance.

'Hey Tiki, mind doing something about that?' he asked his sister.

'Of course, big brother,' Tiki replied.

The Voice of Naga then stepped forward and closed her eyes briefly before holding up a hand. After a moment her palm glowed and a huge shimmering barrier appeared a few inches from the wall before slowly forming a dome over the entire city

'There, that at least stop the projectiles from harming anyone on this side,' Tiki commented, lowering her hand after she had completed her spell. 'It won't stop the Valmese from physically walking through it, but at least our side will be able to send their own ranged attacks through it.'

'You've really gotta work on that,' Raye muttered. 'Still, nicely done sister.'

Tiki smiled. 'Just doing my part, big brother.'

()()()()()()()()()()

At the western wall, Gregor was watching nearly ten ships disgorge hundreds of Valmese.

'Well, Gregor is thinking that this battle will be more hard fought that originally thought!' he remarked. The mercenary then shrugged. 'At least this is meaning that Gregor will be well paid if we are making it out alive, yes?'

'Is money all you can think about, you barbarian?' Maribelle replied, her words intending to sound dignified but instead coming out in a nervous squeak. She cleared her throat and continued in a calmer voice. 'Just be thankful that you have me to heal any of the wounds you no doubt will be foolish enough to gain!'

Gregor laughed. 'Uptight lady is correct; Gregor is grateful to have her here!'

'Um…I don't mean to be a bother, but they appear to be coming closer…' Olivia spoke up shyly, pointing in the direction of the Valmese troops who were indeed marching towards the wall that faced them.

'Right, Gregor is hoping that all Feroxi warriors are ready for the fight of their lives!' Gregor shouted and readied his sword.

()()()()()()()()()()()

'Damn, here they come!' Sully shouted and ordered the Feroxi under her command to start firing their arrows at the oncoming Valmese.

Virion added his own shots to the barrage, a carefree smile on his face as he said, 'Do not worry my fair Sully; you have the most archest of archers to support you and he will…'

'Shut up, Ruffles, and keep firing!'

Ricken shook his head in bemusement at his fellow Shepherds but continued to shoot fireballs alongside several Feroxi mages. Although he was very nervous, the young mage was actually just as eager as Vaike to prove himself and was determined to pull his weight in the battle.

'I will see you again, Verity, I promise…!' Ricken muttered under his breath, repeating the promise he had made to his wife before he had left with Chrom for Regna Ferox.

()()()()()()()()()()()

At the piers, Wallace and his berserkers had just engaged in close combat with the Valmese troops that had landed there.

'Come on, you cowardly Valmese!' the Feroxi commander roared as he swung his warhammer down and pulverized the head of an unfortunate enemy. 'I'm looking for a fight, dammit!'

'Then I'll give you one, dog!' a Valmese captain declared arrogantly and rushed forwards to engage the huge Feroxi.

Wallace snorted in contentment and almost casually blocked the Valmese's attack with the shaft of his weapon. He then picked the man up by the head with one hand and, just as casually, gripped the man's head until it burst. Dropping the body, Wallace spat at it and glared at the other Valmese, who were now looking slightly wary of the Feroxi commander.

'Who's next?' the man roared. 'Try and kill the man that the khans call the Titan of the Coast!'

The Feroxi berserkers following Wallace roared along with their commander and fought all the harder thanks to his display of power, slaying dozens of Valmese as they attempted to push the defenders back.

Try as they might, the Valmese were unable to kill the mere twenty-one enemies standing in their way despite having overwhelming numerical superiority and for the moment their attack from the pier was stalled.

()()()()()()()()()()

'We should probably go and help him,' Chrom declared and drew Falchion. 'All defenders that don't have bows or tomes come with me!'

'I'll stay up here and direct the archers and mages!' Robin shouted as Chrom led his troops in the direction of the gate Wallace was defending.

'Just don't get killed!' Chrom shouted over his shoulder in reply.

'I will stay and defend you, mother,' Lucina spoke up as her father sprinted away.

'Thanks, sweetie, but you should go help your father,' Robin smiled. 'I'll be fine.'

'But…'

Robin shook her head. 'Trust me, he's going to be in the most danger, Lucina, so he'll need all the help he can get.'

'Don't worry, honey, I'll protect your mom!' Sahria interrupted before Lucina could protest. 'Since I can fly, I'll be able to cover both bases if anything bad happens!'

Lucina smiled gratefully at the girl she had grown so close to in the past two years. 'Thanks, Sahria.'

With that, Lucina hurried after her father, leaving her mother and lover behind to protect the wall.

'Are you sure about this?' Robin asked as she turned back to direct the remaining defenders.

'Yep, I trust Lucina not let herself get killed,' Sahria replied confidently. 'If she does die, I'll massacre the Valmese and burn their country to the ground before resurrecting her and kicking her butt for trying to leave me!'

The way that the young manakete had spoken in such a casual tone made Robin pause for a moment. She then shrugged and decided that Sahria hadn't been serious and had merely spoken as any worried person would when speaking about a loved one in danger. The tactician certainly understood where Sahria was coming from at any rate, Robin's own worry for Chrom making her feel tenser than she had in the past few months.

Pushing her worries aside, Robin instead turned her concentration towards the battle that was unfolding before her.

()()()()()()()()()()()

As Chrom and his reinforcements moved to support Wallace at the gate, the western wall found itself facing a disturbingly silent mass of Valmese.

'What are they up to?' Maribelle muttered. 'Barbarian, can you see anything?'

Gregor, who was used to Maribelle calling him 'barbarian' by now, shook his head. 'Apologies, Gregor is not knowing what they are thinking.'

Just at that moment, even as he spoke, the defenders saw a woman walk between the lines before stopping in front of the ranks of Valmese. She was wearing black hooded robes and when she took out a tome from her belt the defenders tensed, expecting the worst despite the barrier that Tiki had erected around the city.

What the woman did, however, far exceeded what any of them thought possible…

The tome began levitating in front of the woman before she held out her hand and yelled, 'Apocalypse!'

Immediately after her shout, the air shivered as several sigils formed above her, swirling until they halted in the shape of an eye. A moment later there was a rumbling sound, all noise seemed to stop and a burst of shadowy energy erupted from the sigils and crashed into the barrier.

The part of Tiki's barrier that had been targeted resisted for several seconds before it seemed to shriek and then shattered. The dark magic of the horrendously powerful spell, with nothing to stop it now, continued on its path and shattered the wall, masonry falling into the moat along with dozens of the defenders.

Luckily, none of the Shepherds present had been on the part of the wall that had been destroyed, but now that a section of the barrier had been destroyed there was nothing to stop the Valmese from using ice magic to freeze the moat and allow their forces to rush towards the breach.

()()()()()()()()()

As her countrymen rushed passed her, the woman calmly took her tome back into her hands.

'Alright, let's see what else they've got,' she commented and began to stride towards the breach as well. 'I do hope that they have someone worthy of taking this curse off of my hands…'

()()()()()()()()()()

'Mother dammit, they DID have more weapons from the Scouring!' Raye growled, he and his sister both having felt the energy of Apocalypse. 'And it had to be THAT damned tome! If Bramimond was here I'd have a stern word with him!'

'I should go over and reinforce them…' Tiki began but was interrupted by her brother letting out an annoyed sigh as he took out his dragonstone.

'No, I'll deal with this,' Raye grumbled. 'You stay here and make sure that Chrom and the other's don't get killed.'

'If you're sure…just be careful, big brother.'

Nowi gripped her father by the arm and looked up at him with worried eyes. 'Yeah, be careful papa!'

'Don't worry about me, Little Dragon; your old man isn't going to die so easily,' Raye said gently, patting his daughter on the head.

When Nowi had released her hold on him, Raye jumped into the air and transformed into his dragon form, winging his way towards where he could see the breach in Tiki's barrier.

As Nowi and Tiki watched him leave, they didn't notice a dark shape detach itself from the shadows and sprint after the retreating from of the elder manakete.

' _Do not worry, my love; I shall make sure that no one will harm you,'_ Tharja thought to herself grimly as she darted through the alleyways of Port Ferox. _'If they do, they will suffer a thousand curses!'_

()()()()()()()()()()()

Chrom heard more than felt it when part of Tiki's barrier was destroyed, but was unable to comment as he fought grimly beside Wallace.

The prince and his reinforcements had arrived in time to see Wallace and his berserkers begin to be pushed back. Now, with their help, it was the Valmese that were the ones being forced to step back, which was exactly what the defenders had wanted since Robin and her archers and mages were now able to fire without worry of hitting any of their allies.

'Ha, good to see you here, prince!' Wallace boomed as he crushed the skulls of several Valmese with his warhammer. 'Though I'll be damned if I let you take all the glory now!'

'Leave the glory taking to the Vaike, old man!' Vaike interrupted before Chrom could respond.

'You're more than welcome to try, boy!' Wallace scoffed.

The two men then began to rampage through the ranks of the Valmese, both trying to outdo the other and causing their foes to being trying to avoid getting in their way and instead charging towards the other defenders.

As they did so, Chrom sighed. 'Why did I expect anything other than that to happen?'

'Could be worse,' Stahl commented from beside Chrom as he impaled a Valm soldier with his spear. 'Those two could be completely incompetent.'

'I'm just glad they're not,' Chrom grumbled in reply, punching another Valmese in the face before decapitating him.

'I'M glad they're on our side!' Gaius remarked as he threw a dagger into the throat of a charging Valmese.

As the man's body fell to the ground, the thief suddenly found himself being tackled from behind; several Valmese had managed to sneak behind the defenders during the initial charge and they were now taking the chance to attack them from the rear.

Before the Valmese could end Gaius' life there and then, an arrow struck him in the back and caused him to let out a pained grunt. The grunt then turned into a scream as the arrow burst into flames and the Valmese rolled away from the thief, trying to put the fire out. However, another arrow came flying out of nowhere and buried itself between the man's eyes, killing him instantly.

Gaius scrambled to his feet and looked around, quickly zeroing in on the direction the arrow had come from and saw a hooded figure jump down from where she had been perched on the roof of the nearby harbourmaster's hut and fling back their hood.

The thief's saviour turned out to be an astonishingly attractive young woman, with light blue eyes and light brown hair that, as she got closer, Gaius could see had blue tips. She was wearing an outfit that was almost exactly like Gaius' own, except hers had extra padding around the chest region. In her hands she was wielding a bow that seemed to glow and which she had already nocked another arrow to.

'Hey, thought you could use some help!' the woman said when she was near enough, casually shooting an arrow at another Valmese when they attempted to charge her.

Like her first victim, the Valmese was soon wreathed in flames and he ran around screaming before the woman silenced him by throwing a dagger into one of his eyes and shooting another arrow into his throat in one smooth motion.

'Jeez, I really need to aim for their throat more often!' she complained as the man fell to the ground dead. 'They make way too much noise otherwise and it just gets messy!'

'Er…thanks…' Gaius said cautiously, unsure whether or not he could trust his 'saviour'.

Seeming to sense his wariness, the woman took a brief moment to introduce herself. 'Sorry, the name's Calista and, long story short, I'm on your side.' She then pointed behind her. 'And that's Cuddles. He's adorable and he will eat you if you don't agree.'

Gaius started when he heard a sudden roar and then jumped backwards when a huge bear came padding out from behind the harbourmaster's hut.

'How the hell did that bear get here?' he demanded. 'And how the hell did no one see it?'

Calista smirked. 'Cuddles can be surprisingly stealthy when he wants to be.' She then shrugged. 'Anyway, no time for more conversation; those Valmese won't shoot themselves!'

With that, the mysterious woman jumped onto the back of the bear the pair then began to wreak absolute havoc amongst the ranks of the invaders, Cuddles mauling them while Calista shot a barrage of arrows from where she was sitting.

'And here I thought I'd seen everything…' Gaius sighed and rejoined the fight.

'Who's your…er…'friend'?' Chrom asked casually as the thief joined him.

'Her name's Calista and she's…well…she's weird!'

()()()()()()()()()()

Meanwhile, Raye had just encountered the woman who was wielding Apocalypse after having torn his way through the Valmese who had been gathered on the other side of the wall. The other Valmese made room for the huge dragon as the woman stepped forward to face him.

'Oh…if it isn't the one that killed Atlas and tore an arm from Iduna…' the woman sighed, sounding bored. 'Thanks for that; I never really like him and his psychotic little partner in crime.'

Raye narrowed his eyes at the woman. 'Who are you? You smell…' The dragon growled. 'You smell familiar…'

'Do I? That's odd…' the woman replied, tilting her head to the side thoughtfully. 'I'm fairly certain that I've never met you…probably…' She shrugged. 'I wouldn't know since Walhart made sure of that.'

'What do you mean?'

'That jerk took away my memories and forced me to become his servant,' the woman said, a hint of displeasure creeping into her voice for the first time since they had started talking. 'The Mad Conqueror said that he'll return them when we're done taking over the world or whatever but I'm no fool; that man's promises are about as empty as his mind and once I've found a way of breaking free from his darn curse I'm going to kill him and everyone he ever knew.'

Saying this, the woman then clicked her fingers and nearly a dozen Valmese were suddenly consumed by shadows. When the shadows receded, all that remained of the woman's unfortunate victims were piles of bones.

'Honestly, if I had a choice I'd happily join you, but alas I do not have that luxury,' the woman continued as her 'comrades' looked at her angrily. 'So…nothing personal or anything but I have to kill you now.'

With that, the woman suddenly launched a ball of dark energy at the gigantic dragon in front of her, who let out a breath and consumed the ball with his fire. He then took flight and the wind from his wings blew the woman's hood away from her face, revealing long black hair, pale skin and dark purple eyes.

When Raye saw the woman, he was surprised. 'Tharja…?' He then realised that the woman's eyes were different from the dark mage he knew and so immediately corrected himself. 'No, you aren't her, sorry.'

'I don't know who this 'Tharja' is, but she sounds…boring…' the woman commented, looking up at the hovering manakete with a slight curiosity. 'Hey, can I have your wings when you die? I've always wanted to know what it's like to fly.'

'How about you tell me who you are first?' Raye demanded.

'I think my name's…hang on…' The woman scratched her head as she tried to remember her name before snapping her fingers. 'Oh yeah…Thea…the name's Thea!'

()()()()()()()()()

 _And that's it for Part One!_

 _And with this, the third wielder of a Scouring weapon has arrived: Thea, with Apocalypse! Who is she really? Why did Walhart erase her memories? Yeah, that will be revealed in Part Two so look out for that._

 _The other newcomer is Calista and her bear mount Cuddles. All I'll say about her is that she's wielding the Regalia bow Parthia._

 _Question time: who is your favourite, originally non-Shepherd OC/added character: is it Wallace, the Titan of the Coast; Phila, Commander of Ylisse's Winged Orders or Raimi, Commander of the Longfort?_

 _Ciao for now!_


	32. Chapter 32

_Sorry for the long wait but here's chapter 27._

()()()()()()()()()()

-Chapter 27- Battle for Port Ferox (Part two)- Problematic Circumstances-

As Raye faced off against the mysterious Thea, in another part of Port Ferox Yana found herself assisting Sully's group at the eastern wall. It was there that another mage, with a horrendously powerful tome, a man this time had appeared not long after Thea had destroyed part of the western wall.

'FORBLAZE!' the man roared, striking a pose as a gigantic pillar of flame erupted from the ground and engulfed a large area of Tiki's barrier, breaking it soon after and consuming several unlucky wall defenders in the inferno.

Luckily for the survivors, Yana had been able to activate her own barrier and shielded them from the lethal flames.

'Good one, princess!' Sully shouted. 'That could've gotten real bad there!'

'Just doing my job,' Yana replied, smiling.

'Well, hope you're ready with that healing magic of yours, cos here they come!'

Indeed, as soon as the barrier and the wall had been breached, hundreds of Valmese troops had charged across the moat as soon as their mages had frozen it over as the ones on the western side had done. Ladders were thrown up against the parts of the wall still standing while the vast majority of the attackers streamed through the breach.

'Crap, we need people down there now!' Sully ordered and headed towards a nearby staircase with dozens of Feroxi troops following her lead. 'Ruffles, you're in charge up here!'

'Understood, dear Sully; I shall not fail you!' the elegant archer replied with a flourish.

With Sully and the Feroxi moving to defend the breach, Virion, Ricken, Yana and the remaining Feroxi and mages were left to rain down spells and arrows on the heads of the Valmese below while at the same time attempting to halt the enemies that were climbing the ladders. For the most part, they were successful, those few Valmese that managed to get onto the wall being dealt with quickly and efficiently by the defenders.

For a few minutes, the Shepherds and Feroxi were able to hold the wall, Sully and her troops below also being able to hold the breach, albeit barely. However, it all came undone when the mage armed with Forblaze approached.

'Ha, you scum cannot stand before the might of my righteous magic!' he announced loudly and arrogantly. 'Taste the flames of Forblaze!'

Not wasting any more time, the man held out his tome, which began to glow, and flung his hands out towards the wall. An instant later, pillars of flame burst into being and demolished even more of the wall. Those on top of the walls were then sent tumbling amidst the masonry as it crashed down, many of them being crushed by stones as they landed. Virion let out a shout of pain as one particular stone impacted with his left arm and broke it while Ricken was unlucky enough to have several small shards of rock bury themselves in his side.

Yana, on the other hand, was able to activate her barrier and weather the destruction of the wall. As she stood up, the cleric looked around and saw the devastation that had occurred. Spying Ricken and Virion, she quickly moved over to them.

'Naga…don't worry, I'll heal you two as quickly as I can!' Yana said quickly.

Kneeling down next to Ricken, who she decided was in the most need of her magic, she held out her hands near to where the young mage's side was riddled with stones. Frowning in concentration, the cleric let out a sigh of relief as her magic washed over Ricken's body, the stones slowly pushing themselves out of his side as the cleric's spell knitted his flesh together and made it whole. A few seconds later, Ricken stopped grimacing and let out a breath.

'Thanks, Yana, that's a lot better…WATCH OUT!' the mage shouted in warning, cutting off his thanks as he saw a figure approach Yana from behind.

At his warning, Yana made to turn around but unfortunately Ricken's warning came too late; a hand reached down and grabbed her around the neck and slowly lifted the struggling cleric to eye level, revealing the person to be none other than Walhart himself.

'Interesting; you use healing magic without a staff…' he commented, inspecting Yana as she tried to free herself from the man's grip. 'You could be very useful…or very dangerous…'

'Let her go!' Ricken yelled and from where he was still lying on the ground shot a fireball at Walhart, who barely flinched as the spell hit his armour.

The armoured giant spared a brief glance down at the young mage before returning his attention to Yana. His eyes roamed over her before fixing themselves on her right shoulder, where Yana's dress had slipped slightly as she struggled. His eyes widened slightly as he glimpsed a flash of blue and he ripped the sleeve free, revealing Yana's Brand of the Exalt.

'So…you are of the Exalted line,' he growled, tightening his grip slightly and making Yana's vision begin to blur. 'Which means that you _are_ very dangerous.' Walhart's eyes narrowed. 'Tell me; does you magic come from that abomination that you Ylisseans pray too, or is it something else?'

'Why…why does it matter…?' Yana croaked out.

'Because your answer will decide your fate.'

()()()()()()()()()()

Raye let out a grunt of pain as Thea's spell tore into one of his wings, but responded to the attack by letting shooting Naga's Lance right back at his opponent who managed to block it with a wall of shadow.

The dragon and the Valmese mage had been battling so fiercely over the last few minutes that several craters and dozens of dead Valmese troops who had been caught up in their fight dotted the landscape. Neither combatant was able to get the best of their opponent so they were now stuck at an impasse and flinging spell after spell at each other.

'Give it up, please; I have other places to be y'know,' Thea grumbled as she dodged out of the way of a burst of fire from Raye's jaws. 'It's rather rude to make a lady late.'

' _And here I thought we were having a good time!'_ the dragon retorted as he covered his head with a wing to block Thea's return spell.

The woman allowed a small smile to appear on her face but before she could respond a spell hit her from the side and she stumbled back. Both dragon and mage then turned to see who had attacked her.

There, with a shocked expression on her face, was Tharja. The dark mage had arrived just as Thea's hood had fallen away during the first few seconds of her battle with Raye and she had immediately recognized the face of the Valmese mage. It had taken her a few minutes to get over the shock of seeing the one person other than Raye that she was devoted to seemingly on the side of the enemy, especially since they weren't Plegian.

'S…sister…?' she whispered. 'Why are you here?'

Thea looked at Tharja but there was no recognition in her eyes, which was further reinforced when she said, 'Who are you?'

Tharja stumbled backwards at these words. 'You…you don't remember me?'

'Should I?'

As the dark mage crumbled to the ground, Raye landed next to her. _'You know her?'_

'Yes, she's my older sister,' Tharja mumbled, her eyes uncharacteristically showing deep sadness and pain. 'But why doesn't she remember me?'

' _Apparently Walhart did something to her that removed her memories,'_ Raye replied, feeling a small surge of pity for the upset dark mage. _'That's probably why.'_

At this, a flash of anger appeared in Tharja's eyes.

'I will tear that man apart!' she growled and stood back up. 'And I will destroy anyone that gets in my way!'

Before Tharja could move, Thea had moved to block her passage.

'In that case, I'm afraid that you'll have to try and destroy me, 'cos I have no choice but to stop you,' she informed her forgotten sister nonchalantly.

()()()()()()()()()()

Meanwhile the Shepherds and Feroxi at the pier were still holding out against the tide of Valmese and denying them entry into the city, with help from the newly arrived Calista and her bear Cuddles. Calista's arrows in particular, which she seemingly had an infinite amount of, were proving to be a devastating hindrance for the attackers.

'Damn, girl; you're quite terrifying!' Wallace boomed as he saw six Valmese get consumed by the fiery arrows that Calista was pouring into their ranks.

'Thanks, I try!' the bear riding archer grinned.

Chrom and Wallace had ordered their troops back slightly to give them a few precious seconds of rest as it was obvious that the Valmese were being held back for the moment. Now, they both took the opportunity to take stock of the numbers.

'It's not looking good, princeling, even with crazy girl's help,' Wallace grumbled. 'I've already lost the majority of my berserkers and your Shepherds are looking pretty tired as well.'

'What; you slowing down, old man?' Vaike panted from where he had heard the Feroxi commander's words. 'The Vaike's just getting warmed up!'

'Enough of your boastings, boy!' Wallace barked, throwing the Shepherd a frown. 'Now is not the time for your foolishness!'

As Vaike opened his mouth to argue, he was interrupted by Robin's voice shouting from above.

'Watch out, we've got more ships incoming!' the defenders heard the tactician warn.

The Shepherds and Feroxi looked past the tide of Valmese in front of them and could indeed see several more ships appearing on the horizon.

'Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!' Chrom cried out in frustration. 'How many people does Walhart have?'

'Too many, princeling,' Wallace rumbled, gripping his warhammer agitatedly. 'We've been barely holding on against the current numbers; I think this may just break us!'

Unfortunately for the defenders, the Valmese troops that were already gathered in front of them seemed to have been waiting for this new development and now surged forwards once again, shouting confidently and with weapons at the ready.

'Alright, here they come!' Chrom shouted. 'Defenders; time to fight with whatever you have left!'

()()()()()()()()()()

'Sister, please! Stop this!' Tharja cried desperately as she jumped out of the way of another spell that had been shot from Thea.

'Sorry, can't do that,' the enemy mage replied calmly. 'Orders and all that, y'know?'

'But…but you said that you hate Walhart!' the dark mage said quickly, blocking another spell with one of her own. 'Surely that counts for something?'

'You'd think, but I physically cannot go against that bastard's will,' Thea sighed. 'I've already explained that to you dragon friend, ask him.'

' _She's not lying,'_ Raye confirmed, leaping into the air and circling the battling sisters. _'So can I roast her now?'_ Tharja had insisted that she face her sister and had asked that the dragon stay out of her way.

'No, I can still get through to her!' Tharja replied. 'I'm sorry, my love, but this is something that only I can do!'

'' _My love'?'_ Raye thought to himself, not entirely sure if he had heard the dark mage's words properly. Shrugging it off, he then said out loud, _'If you insist, just be careful.'_

Tharja glanced up briefly before focussing her attention back on her sister. 'I _will_ free you from his control, sister; I swear it!'

'If you could do that, I would be ever so grateful,' Thea nodded, genuinely sounding hopeful at the other woman's declaration.

The two sisters then once again began their fight, charging their spells before letting loose with everything they had. Their fight had already caused even more destruction to the lands around them and they both used it to their advantage, jumping into craters to avoid a spell or rolling behind a pile of dirt to recover their energy. Raye watched all of this from above, worried about his ally and frustrated that she had thus far refused his help. Despite these feelings, he trusted that Tharja knew what she was doing and so waited to see the result of the battle of the sisters.

()()()()()()()()()

Walhart tightened his grip again and brought Yana slightly closer to his face, glaring into her eyes. 'So, what is the answer?'

'I…I don't know…!' Yana chocked, her struggles becoming weaker as she felt her consciousness beginning to fade. 'All I…can tell you is that I was…born with them…!'

The armoured man considered her words before finally releasing the cleric and dropping her to the ground. He then turned to speak to a small, one armed woman who had suddenly appeared at his side.

'Well?' he asked shortly.

The woman tilted her head and studied the fallen cleric before her. She then let out a hiss and looked up at her lord. 'I can sense it; her abilities come from that dragon bitch and not from the cleric herself!'

Walhart nodded. 'Then that is all I needed to know.' He then began striding past the fallen Shepherds, not sparing them a glance as he continued. 'Iduna; restrain her.'

'Aww...but!' Iduna whined, but cowered when Walhart glared at her. Huffing, she knocked Yana out before gesturing to another Valmese soldier to tie her up. The girl then eagerly followed her master, chirping out, 'Then can we go and kill that fucker that killed Atlas? I want my real sword back!'

'If we encounter him, then I won't get in your way,' Walhart shrugged before leading his remaining troops outside of the wall into the city.

As they disappeared into the smoke, the Valmese hauled Yana in the opposite direction, Ricken and Virion too weak to attempt to stop them.

()()()()()()()()()

As she was laying waste to the Valmese troops on the pier, Sahria suddenly froze as she felt something change in the air. This allowed several of her attackers to spear her sides and she let out a roar as the sudden pain brought her back out of her reverie. The dragon angrily roasted them and jumped back next to Lucina, who looked at her worriedly.

'Are you alright, Sahria?' she asked quickly, putting a hand on her lover's flank.

' _Yeah, I'm fine, Lucy,'_ the dragon replied distractedly, craning her neck around to stare in the distance at where she unconsciously knew was where her mother was. _'It's just…I have this sudden bad feeling about my mama…'_

Lucina frowned. 'Yana? Did something happen to her?'

' _I…don't know…'_

'If you want to check on her, I'm sure my father won't mind,' the future princess said.

Sahria looked down at her girlfriend before making a quick decision.

Raising her wings, the young dragon leaped into the air and began winging her way in the direction of the eastern wall. As she did, Chrom walked up to his daughter and looked questioningly at her.

'She had a sudden feeling that Aunty Yana might be in trouble,' Lucina explained.

Hearing this, a worried look crossed the prince's face and he looked in the direction of Sahria's retreating form.

'I hope she gets there in time if that's the case,' he murmured softly.

()()()()()()()()()

At the western wall, the contest between the two sisters might have looked evenly matched to an outsider, but to Tharja she knew that it was anything but; her sister was still much more powerful than she was. Already the Shepherds' resident dark mage had several cuts across her body and she had lost the feeling in her left arm.

Gritting her teeth in pain, she glanced over the tip of the crater she was currently sheltering inside, quickly ducking back down as Thea immediately launched a spell in reaction.

'I…I can't do this…!' Tharja whimpered softly to herself. Despite being possibly the most powerful, non-dragon, non-royal member of the Shepherds, she had never beaten her older sister in a contest of magic and even though she now called herself Thea and had forgotten Tharja she seemed to have only become more powerful.

With these thoughts, Tharja was starting to believe that the only way to beat her sister was to kill her, but even then the dark mage hesitated. Thea had always been the only source of comfort for her when they had been growing up and even though she had eventually become distant to her family Tharja had remained devoted to her sister, always sending her a letter every now and them over the years. Tharja had even actually been aware that her sister had disappeared but was not relieved to discover what had happened to her.

Shaking her head, Tharja let out another whimper, curled up at the bottom of the crater and began to cry.

Above her, Raye quickly noticed the dark mage's movement, or lack thereof, and flew down to land next to the crater Tharja was crying in. Glancing down at her once he was on the ground, he was surprised to see the state that Tharja was in.

' _Tharja, what's wrong?'_ he asked, keeping Thea in his eyesight as he spoke.

Tharja looked up at the dragon, her face distraught. 'I…I can't do this anymore! I can't fight my sister!'

'She too strong?' Raye questioned.

'That…and I just can't bring myself to harm her!' the dark mage wailed. 'She's all I have left in this world!' She sniffed. 'I mean…apart from you…'

' _Okaay…well, if that's the case do you want me to finish this fight for you?'_ the dragon asked, choosing to not comment on that last part.

A panicked look appeared on Tharja's face at the dragon's words and she scrambled to her feet.

'NO! Please…can we just let her be?' she asked desperately.

' _If we do that she'll annihilate the Shepherds and the Feroxi,'_ Raye pointed out surprisingly gently. He then sighed when he saw the look that the dark mage sent his way. _'I…suppose I could try to knock her out?'_

Latching onto this new plan, Tharja nodded vigorously. 'Yes, that would be a better plan!'

Raye sighed again and turned to face Thea, who for some reason had allowed them to have their conversation.

Seeing the dragon look at her, Thea yawned. 'Oh, so I guess we're gonna continue our fight, dragon man?'

' _In a sense…'_ Raye grumbled.

As she looked at him in mild confusion, the dragon suddenly leapt towards her. Seeing the giant dragon barrelling towards her, Thea raised her hands and shot a quick spell towards him. However, in mid-charge Raye transformed back into his human form and the spell shot over his head. Completely taken surprise by this manoeuvre, Thea was unable to react when Raye drew his sword and knocked her unconscious with its pommel. Pouting rather like an annoyed child at him for a moment, the woman then slumped to the ground.

Raye sheathed his sword and looked down at the woman at his feet as Tharja quickly joined him and checked her sister.

'Well…that was rather anticlimactic,' he grumbled.

()()()()()()()()

Sahria had by now arrived at the sight of Yana's capture. Spotting Ricken and Virion lying on the ground below her, she quickly landed and transformed into her regular self. Getting to her knees beside the young mage, she shook him until, with a pained groan, he blearily opened his eyes.

'Sahria?' he muttered, slowly sitting up, hissing in pain as he did so. 'Wha...what happened?'

'I could ask you the same thing!' Sahria replied, gently helping the mage to his feet. 'Where's my mama?'

Coughing to clear the dust from his throat, Ricken suddenly remembered what had transpired and glanced guiltily at the young manakete.

'Er...Sahria...I don't,' he sighed and his shoulders slumped. 'I'm sorry, but Yana was captured by the Valmese.' Hearing this made Sahria go still, a look of panic beginning to form on her face. Seeing this, Ricken quickly tried to reassure her. 'But don't worry, I'm sure that we can get her back!'

'Promise?' Sahria pleaded.

'Definitely, I'll even go with you if you're thinking of going right now!' Ricken nodded, a determined look on his face now. The effect was then ruined when he slumped to his knees. 'Or at least I would if I was in any position to do so.'

Smiling slightly, Sahria gently guided the mage into a sitting position against a nearby ruined wall before straightening. Clenching her fist, the young manakete felt her power respond to her fear for her mother's safety, surging and flowing even stronger than it had before.

'I'm coming, mama!' she growled and quickly transformed into a dragon and flew off into the sky, willing her power to grow ever stronger even as she began the search for the kidnapped cleric.

()()()()()()()()

Raye looked up from where he had been watching Tharja stoke her sister's hair as he felt an odd power begin to saturate the air.

'What the hell?' he muttered, feeling uneasy at the sheer intensity of the presence.

Tharja also seemed to have sense something was wrong and looked back at the dragon. 'What's that?'

()()()()()()()()

Lucina let out a cry of pain as her Exalt's Brand began to burn intensely and from the way her father's hand leapt to the shoulder where his was located she knew he had felt the same thing.

'Father…what is that?' she asked, a hint of fear in her voice.

'I don't know…' Chrom replied, just as concerned as his daughter. 'But whatever it is, it can't be good.'

Neither one of them noticed Calista let out a small grunt and glance down at her left breast at the same time they were wondering why their brands were suddenly burning.

()()()()()()()()

Robin stumbled from where she was fighting against Valmese spearman and was almost impaled. Luckily, Kellam was near enough that he was able to save her from an early death.

'You alright, Robin?' the knight asked, not really expecting a reply. He was therefore surprised when Robin nodded faintly.

'Yes, I'm fine Kellam…' she replied softly. 'I just had a sudden feeling of extreme uneasiness, that's all.'

()()()()()()()()

In another part of the world, a blind old man flinched as he felt an overwhelming feeling of despair.

'So…the Inheritor has awakened…' he murmured. 'Naga and Grima save us all…'

()()()()()()()()

The cloaked woman let out a fearful gasp and shot to her feet where she had been sitting in a darkened room.

'What…what is this power I feel?' she muttered. 'It feels similar to mine, but mixed with that damned Naga…and greater than both of us!'

()()()()()()()()

In his house in the Outrealms, Old Man Hubba looked around as he felt the whole Outrealm rumble. He then sighed with annoyance as he felt other Outrealms begin to crack and suffer similar fates.

'Oh for...can't those grandchildren of mine manage to keep their eye son her!' he grumbled, understanding the cause of the destruction. 'They're both two of the most powerful beings in existence and yet they seem incompetent at BEING competent!'

The old man paced agitatedly around his room, the only other person present watching him for a moment before asking, 'Who is this 'Dragon of the Void'?'

Hubba turned to the young blue haired man. 'The most powerful dragon to have ever, and will ever, exist.' He grunted. 'Much more powerful than the Idunn of your time, Roland m'boy.'

The old man began pacing again and continued. ''Born of both Fel and Divine, the Void shall consume all in its path unless guided by the Sundered and the Voice'. Those are the words that the First Dragon told once when we were having tea.' Hubba grumbled. 'And it seems that those two idiots have done an extremely poor job of doing their part of the prophecy!'

Roland raised an eyebrow. 'So...what are you going to do?'

Hubba stopped pacing and looked at the young man. He then sighed.

'I have no choice…they need help now. It seems that there are players on the board that I did not anticipate.'

With that, Hubba hobbled out of his house, followed quickly by Roland, and made his way over to a circle that had been etched into a marble slab. Stepping onto it, the old man tapped the end of his staff in the middle of the circle and cleared his throat.

'Heroes from across time hear me!' he chanted. 'A world is in need of your assistance and I implore you to answer the call!'

There was a moment of silence after Hubba had finished before multiple portals snapped into existence nearby. From their depths he and Roland could see several lands through them as well as a few people going about their lives.

'So the worlds of the Bound and Blazed, the Radiant, the Sacred, the Shadowed, the Fated and the Warriors have answered…' Hubba then let an annoyed grunt. 'Well, if the world of the Warriors answered, half of the others needn't have bothered!'

'I'm confused…' Roland said, shaking his head.

'The world of the Warriors is currently going through what I'm attempting…never mind!' Hubba snapped, interrupting his own explanation. 'It's time to bring them through, though I'm going to have to be careful not to bring in duplicates thanks to the Warriors!'

'You should probably ask them if they WANT to,' the younger man pointed out. 'I mean, I was rather irritated that you scooped me out of my own world just to have tea!'

'No time, boy!' Hubba barked as the portals began to glow and several figures could be seen being dragged into them. 'EVERY world, not just the world of the Awakened, is at risk if we don't calm my grand-niece down and stop whoever is determined to ruin everything!'

()()()()()()()()()

'What in Naga's name…?' Chrom breathed as the air began to hum with energy.

Out of nowhere, several large portals began to appear in different parts of the city, one snapping into existence mere feet away from the prince.

'Er…was that one of your mages?' Wallace asked as he walked up to stand next to the prince, eyeing the portal suspiciously.

'I really hope so!'

The two men then tensed when a man suddenly jumped through the portal.

'Ah crap…!' Wallace grumbled.

'Shepherds; get ready!' Chrom shouted and those that weren't currently engaged against the Valmese turned and joined the prince and Wallace. However, at the sight of the blue haired man, Chrom quickly raised a hand to halt them, his eyes wide. 'P…Prince Marth?!' he exclaimed in shock.

'Ah…no, sorry…I'm…' the man tried to correct the prince but was cut off when Chrom let out a gasp.

'K…KING Marth?'

'For…no, I'm ROLAND!' the older man sighed. He then pointed over his shoulder. 'But Prince Marth should be right…oh, here he is.'

Chrom stared as a second blue haired man, this one slightly younger than himself, stepped out of the portal behind Roland.

'Naga…' the Ylissean prince murmured before keeling backwards and falling to the ground, unconscious.

Prince Marth raised an eyebrow at the unconscious Chrom and shared a look with Roland, who shrugged.

'Don't ask me,' Roland commented.

()()()()()()()()()

 _Another day, and another chapter (or in this case an adjustment since reading it I realized that the way it was was really...shit...). Basically i had originally had Iduna kill Yana, which caused Sahria to freak out and then kill Ricken and Virion before going completley nuts. However, a review made me realise that that would probably have been completely out of left field and I will admit that I messed that up. Anyway, i finally got around to changing those parts and so here we are._

 _As for the summoned characters, it goes without saying that at least all of the lord characters of those games will be showing up (Marth, Ike, Lyn/Hector/Eliwood, Roy/Lilina, Eirika/Ephraim, Celica/Alm, ALL of the Fates royals and Rowan/Lianna) plus several of the supporting characters of each generation._

 _Also, every single one of the eight heroes of the Scouring are going to be showing up, weapons included, so it's going to very interesting from here on out what with all the multiples of the legendary weapons, especially Falchion, which are now present._

 _Final word, none of these characters are Einherjar; they are all the real thing._

 _Hopefully I can write that well enough, eh?_

 _Ciao for now!_


	33. Chapter 33

_If this were an anime, this would be the fan-service episode. Also, finally managed to get some free time to continue this story._

()()()()()()()()()()

-Chapter 28- Battle for Port Ferox (Part 3)- Heroes of old and heroes of now

All throughout Port Ferox figures leaped out of the portals that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and began to fight alongside the defending Feroxi and Ylisseans.

()()

Near the ruins of the armoury, three figures strode confidently through the dust and greeted Gregor, Maribelle and Olivia who had retreated from the western wall and were making their way back towards Chrom's position.

"Hi there!" the lead one, a green haired woman wearing light blue clothing over her armour, shouted with a raised hand. "This may seem a bit abrupt but we've been sent here to assist you!"

"And who are you exactly?" Maribelle asked suspiciously. "How can we be sure you are not simply Valmese troops attempting a ruse?"

"I can assure you that we're here to help," the woman smiled and bowed slightly. "Allow me to introduce myself; the name's Lyn and my two companions are Lords Eliwood and Hector." The two men behind her bowed in turn as their names were uttered. "Now, how about we go and prove to you that we're not here with nefarious intent?"

Before Maribelle could argue further, Gregor stepped in front of her and grinned at Lyn.

"To be honest, Gregor is believing you since you did not do with the attacking as soon as you saw us!" He held out a hand to her then and Lyn shook it. "So as long as you are not planning to stab Gregor in the back later, he thinks that it would be good to be joining forces!"

"Excellent!' Lyn smiled and gestured for Eliwood and Hector to follow as the group resumed making their way through the city. "Let's go boys!"

"Who made her the leader, milord?" Hector grumbled to the other man.

Eliwood smiled patiently at his long-time friend. "Just go with it, Hector."

()()

In another part of the city, Stahl and Sully found themselves surrounded by dozens of Valmese, with Panne nearby in a similar position.

"Dammit, we need to get to Panne!" Sully growled, seeing that her friend was struggling to fend off a wall of spears.

Just as the tide seemed to be turning against the three Shepherds, several arrows buried themselves in the backs of a dozen Valmese, forcing an opening that allowed Stahl and Sully to charge through. Fighting their way to Panne's side, the trio were surprised to see a woman on a horse riding through the ranks of the Valmese, wielding a magnificent bow that seemed to shoot arrows out with the force of a gale. Any Valmese hit were flung back as if they weighed nothing.

"You guys gonna just stare or are ya going to help out?" the woman asked cheekily as she reached the Shepherds.

"Hey, we were doing fine!" Sully protested hotly.

"Whatever ya say, Red!" the woman winked before wheeling her horse around and making to gallop off again.

"Wait, who are you?" Stahl asked quickly, curiosity etched on his face.

"Hanon!" came the short reply before the woman rode off, her arrows causing havoc in the Valmese lines in her wake.

()()

"So…is he going to wake up?" Roland asked, wincing slightly as he watched Robin slap Chrom across the face.

The tactician sighed. "Believe me, I have no idea. He tends to do this a lot." She frowned then. "Maybe we should look into that, now that I'm thinking about it; it can't be healthy."

After Chrom had fainted, those of his family that still remained with him dragged him into the nearest house while the Feroxi held off the surviving Valmese. Roland and Prince Marth, whose presence made Lucina slightly awestruck, had accompanied them.

Eventually Chrom's eyes flew open and he sat up quickly, almost head-butting his wife in the process. He looked up at Robin in a daze and said, "Oh, Robin…I had the best dream ever! I dreamt that I met THE Prince Marth and some other blue haired guy and…"

When the Ylissean prince finally saw Roland and Marth standing near the doorway, his eyes widened and he shot to his feet.

"Oh my Naga…that was REAL?!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, dear, you didn't imagine them," Robin said exasperatedly, face-palming. "Now can you please stop being an idiot and calm down?"

"Right…calm down…I can do that!" Chrom closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths before he reached out a stiff hand to Roland and Marth. "Hello there, my fine fellows, how do you do? I am Prince Chrom and I don't believe we've met before now?"

Beside him his wife internally rolled her eyes, as well as outwardly, and made a mental note to teach Chrom how to handle himself better when meeting legendary figures for the first time.

Holding out her own hand, Robin introduced herself. "Hello, I'm this big lug's long suffering wife Robin."

"Yes, well…I'm Roland," the older blue haired man replied, and pointed over his shoulder at Marth. "And I guess I don't really need to introduce the kid, considering your husband's been practically drooling over him since he woke up."

Chrom, who had indeed been staring at Marth with stars in his eyes, shook his head and shot a frown at Roland.

"I was NOT drooling…" he muttered.

"Keep telling yourself that, dear," Robin laughed, patting Chrom on the arm affectionately.

"So what's the plan?" Marth asked then, speaking for the first time. Lucina was slightly surprised at the soft voice the prince had; she had assumed he'd have a loud, dominating kind of voice.

"I guess go back out there and continue the fight?" Chrom shrugged, retrieving his Falchion from where it had been placed against the wall while stealing a glance at Marth's own version of the sword.

Roland shared a look with Robin, who had decided was the responsible one between her and Chrom. The tactician returned the look with one that advised he go with it.

Turning to face Chrom, Roland took Robin's advice and said, "Alright, simplistic but to the point; I like it."

"Right then, let's get going and kick those Valmese out of Port Ferox!" Chrom declared confidently, acting as if he hadn't been unconscious mere moments ago from hero-worship, and led the way out the building.

" _At least he's energetic,"_ Roland sighed in his head as he followed the Ylissean prince.

()()

As Wallace the Feroxi picked up a Valmese swordsman and slammed him back down into the ground he became aware of a presence behind him and whirled around, raising his warhammer up in preparation of swinging it down onto the head of a potential foe. However, he stayed his hand when he saw that it was an older man as large as him in equally large silver plate armour and armed with a spear.

"Who're you?" the Feroxi captain asked rudely, lowering his weapon slightly but remaining alert just in case.

Far from being insulted by the other man's tone, the armoured man laughed in a booming voice and introduced himself. "The name's Wallace, my friend, knight of Caelin and loyal vassal to the Lady Lyn!"

Wallace the Feroxi laughed in reply. "Well, ain't that just dandy; _my_ name's Wallace as well, Wallace of Ferox I suppose!"

The two men eyed each other before stepping forwards and gripping each other on the forearms.

"A pleasure to meet you then, Wallace of Ferox!" the armoured Wallace boomed.

"Likewise, Wallace of Caelin!" the warhammer wielding Wallace chuckled. "Now then, how about we show these dogs the wrath of two Wallaces?"

"Lead the way, friend!"

Turning to face the oncoming Valmese, the pair of warriors let out matching war-cries and charged towards the foe.

()()

"Oh my, my lady, this is rather hectic wouldn't you say?" a man with a bemused expression, spikey brown hair and wielding a priest's rod nonchalantly commented, almost lazily ducking underneath a Valmese soldier's attack.

"That may be so, but perhaps we should keep our wits about us," a white haired, red eyed young woman wearing white armour and a blue cape advised. She blocked another Valmese and cut him down in the same motion, her left hand morphing into a spike and impaling the soldier.

The pair turned around when their third companion, a blue haired woman with golden eyes and garbed in an elegant white dress let out a soft cry.

"Azura? Are you okay?" the white haired woman asked concernedly. "Do you need me to get Corrin? Not that I'd know where that idiot twin of mine is in this mess…" She mumbled the last bit under her breath.

"I apologise, Corrina," Azura replied softly, wincing and putting a hand to the side of her head. "It's just…there are three individuals here whose powers are…overwhelming."

"Enemies?"

Azura shook her head. "No, they feel familiar somehow…akin to you and my husband in fact."

"So they're manaketes?" Corrina asked curiously. Azura nodded. "Cool."

"Ladies, we have company," their priestly companion warned them.

The three of them tensed, but blinked when a small green haired girl wearing unfortunately revealing clothing stumbled out of the dust and smoke. The girl froze when she saw them, a slightly panicked look on her face that caused the adults to lower their weapons quickly.

"Hello there, child," Azura said kindly, kneeling down to the girl's level. "Are you lost?"

At the world child, the girl puffed out her cheeks in annoyance, all fear gone as she exclaimed, "I'm NOT a child! I'll have you know I'm more than a thousand years old!"

Azura shared a surprised look with her companions, but quickly realised what the girl was when a pointed ear was seen poking out from her long hair.

"Ah, you're a manakete aren't you?" the graceful woman said. When the girl nodded she smiled. "But not one of the ones I felt…"

"Oh yeah, you probably sensed my papa, aunt and Sahria!" the girl grinned, bouncing on the spot. She then frowned. "But I'm nowhere near as strong as them so that's why you didn't sense me I guess."

At the dejected look on the girl's face, Azura smiled kindly and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure you'll get stronger."

A radiant smile replaced the girl's sad expression. "You're nice, lady! The name's Nowi, by the way."

"And I'm Azura," the older woman replied. She then gestured over her shoulder at her companions. "The other lady is Princess Corrina and the shifty looking man is the priest Azama."

"Shifty?" Azama frowned as Corrina snickered.

"Good to meet ya, Lady Azura!" Nowi smiled. Before they could continue, a loud roar echoed through the air and the small dragon looked up. "That was my papa! He sounds annoyed about something, although he usually sounds like that whenever I'm not around!"

"Should we go look for him?" Corrina asked.

Nowi shook her head. "Nah, he'll be fine." She then giggled. "Heh…Nah…that's my daughter's name."

"You named your daughter Nah?" Azama asked curiously. "Why?"

"Dunno."

"Right…anyway, we should probably find some other allies around here," Corrina sighed, talking over the reply she saw was about to come out of Azama's mouth. "Shall we?"

"Follow me then, new friends!" Nowi cheered and dashed off.

"Hey, wait up!" Corrina shouted and quickly followed the small dragon, Azura and Azama close behind.

()()

Tharja looked up when she heard Raye let out a loud roar of anger. Looking to where his gaze was fixed, she scrambled to her feet when she saw a huge, red armoured man standing a few feet away. There was also a young woman with only one arm beside him with dark purple hair and wearing a similar look of hatred as the taller man.

"So, we meet again, lizard," the armoured man growled. "I have been anticipating this day and shall not allow you to escape again!"

Raye snorted. _"ALLOW me to escape? If I remember correctly, Walhart, I left you at death's door! There was no ALLOWING of anything from you at that point!"_

"Simply luck, you abomination!" Walhart snarled, drawing his axe. "Which you will not receive this second time!"

"I call his little slut!" the woman beside him sneered, pointing directly at Tharja.

The woman's words seemed to enrage the dragon. _"Don't you call her a slut, you little brat!"_

"MY NAME IS IDUNA!" the woman shrieked, grinding the butt of her spear that Raye recognised as Maltet into the ground.

" _And I really don't care!"_ Raye snapped. _"I'll make sure you lose your other arm this time!"_

With the 'pleasantries' out of the way, Raye decided at that moment to engage in combat with Walhart, flying straight at the leader of the enemy forces and knocking him backwards several metres with a ferocious head-butt.

As her master fought Raye, Iduna launched herself towards Tharja and aimed a ferocious jab with Maltet directly at Tharja's stomach. The former Plegian sorceress managed to block the attack with a shield of hardened dark energy and then used her magic to glide backwards away from the crazed woman.

"I can't wait to throw your lifeless corpse at that bastard bitch's feet!" Iduna growled, chasing Tharja and raining down blows on that sorceress, being surprisingly agile for someone with only one arm. "I can tell that he'll be cut up about it, as well as cut up by my master!"

"Hmph, my beloved won't be taken down by someone as unimpressive as your 'master', little girl," Tharja scoffed, pushing her worry for her sister to the back of her head for the time being.

"Ha, I knew you were his little bed warmer!" Iduna replied snarkly. "With clothes like that you couldn't be anything else!"

"At least I'm comfortable with showing what I've got!" Tharja growled back, hitting Iduna full in the face with a ball of dark energy and causing her to stumble.

Tharja then summoned tendrils of shadows from the ground and used them to bind Iduna in place before launching her into the air with them. As Iduna flew skywards, Tharja clenched her right fist and made a downwards punching motion, causing a massive shadowy version of it to appear above Iduna. With a crack the shadow fist rammed into Iduna's body and knocked her back down into ground, causing a crater with the impact.

"Ow…" Iduna groaned in irritation. Crawling out of the crater, she shot a glare at Tharja who smirked back. She then let out a laugh. "Y'know, if this were any other time I think I'd like you. At least you ain't a disgusting lizard like your lover."

"I'm flattered," Tharja replied sarcastically. "But can we get back to killing each other?"

"Sure, babe, whatever you say," Iduna grinned savagely. "Still hate you, by the way."

With that, the two women locked themselves into battle once again, not noticing Thea groan as she stirred slowly back into consciousness.

()()

"Just…give it up…lizard!" Walhart grunted as he crashed into Raye's flank and swung Armads at his wing. The dragon skipped out of the way however and the Conqueror was left swinging at empty air.

" _How about YOU give up first?"_ Raye snarled back, slamming his tail into Walhart's own side and crushing him against a wall. He then attempted to roast the other man alive but the Valmese leader managed to push the dragon's tail away and slid down the wall to avoid the flames.

"I'm going to enjoy finally ending your life!" Walhart roared as he finally managed to land a telling blow on the dragon's left wing who let out a snarl of pain and skipped backwards, his wing falling limp from the attack. "And now you cannot escape!"

Internally, Raye came to the conclusion that if he continued fighting in his dragon form Walhart had a very good chance of actually killing him so he quickly transformed back into his regular form. When he did so his left arm was bloodied and broken, a sight that made Walhart's lip curl up in a sneer.

"How does it feel to know that you aren't as all powerful as you believed, lizard?" the Conqueror taunted. "It must be so galling to be brought down to the level of us mere humans."

"Personally, I don't mind being part of the human world," Raye snapped back, drawing Dragon's Rage. "It's being lumped in with the likes of you that makes me sick!"

"You won't have to suffer in any case; the only mercy I will give you!"

Just before the two men could lock weapons, a dark shadow fell across them and they both looked up to see a purple four-winged dragon hovering over them. For a brief second, Raye thought that it was Grima but he quickly dismissed that thought since the dragon hovering above them was both smaller and thinner and lacked the large horns of the Fell Dragon.

"You think that one more dragon is going to tip the balance in your favour?" Walhart scoffed, glancing between Raye and the new dragon.

"I don't even know who that is!" Raye replied in irritation. He then stiffened when the dragon let out a whine at his words and a familiar presence he hadn't felt in a very long time pushed against his mind.

" _You don't remember me?"_ the dragon then said sadly out loud and, like the presence in his mind, Raye immediately recognised it.

"Idunn?!" he exclaimed, shocked. "What in the name of my mother are you doing here?"

" _I'm here to help!"_ Idunn replied happily.

With that, the purple dragon let out a roar and several similarly coloured fireballs materialised around her. Idunn then shot them towards Walhart who was forced to fall back under the onslaught. Raye grinned at seeing his foe under pressure and, pushing his amazement at Idunn's arrival, leapt forward and aimed a blow at Walhart.

At the last moment Walhart managed to block Dragon's Rage with Armads and the two combatants once again found themselves duelling to the death.

They remained locked in combat for several minutes, each trying their best to kill the other, before Idunn let out a huff and slammed into the ground behind Walhart. This distracted the Conqueror long enough for Raye to land a telling blow, blood spurting out of Walhart's shoulder from where Dragon's Rage had bit deep.

Before Raye could capitalise on his advantage a giant of a man in heavy armour suddenly appeared from out of the dust and charged into him, knocking the manakete to the side. Raye rolled to his feet and glared at the new arrival.

"Who the hell are you?" he snapped, but remaining wary since he could feel the sheer presence the newcomer radiated.

"In time you may discover the answer to that question," the giant man replied in a deep voice. "For now, my master and I must bid you adieu."

Turning back to Walhart, the mysterious man held up a hand. The air around both he and his master seemed to warp before they both disappeared. Seeing this, Raye sighed in frustration and sheathed Dragon's Rage. He then looked over at Idunn as she transformed into her human self, that of a slim purpled haired woman with one pink coloured eye and the other green.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, young lady," Raye commented in a stern voice.

He smiled slightly at the look of fear that appeared on Idunn's face.

()()

Sahria roared as she felt arrows pepper her wings but she continued flying in the direction she felt her mother's life-force coming from. It hadn't taken her long to detect it when she flew over the port and she had immediately made a beeline for it.

" _Give me back my mama!"_ she growled angrily and breathed purple fire over a group of Valmese.

As her victims shrieked and burned to death she landed in the midst of another group, crushing several and flinging the rest away with her tail. Sahria then began to slaughter her way through the Valmese camp, not caring about the spells that deflected from her hide or even the arrows that sunk into it; all she cared about was getting to Yana and retrieving her.

" _Where is she?!"_ she shrieked, her rage increasing with each second that she didn't find Yana. _"If you don't give her back you'll regret it!"_

She turned, intending to fling herself at the nearest group of Valmese as they charged at her, when she felt a sudden overwhelming pressure push at the edge of her mind. It wasn't invasive, more questioning than anything, but it was enough to make her pause.

" _Who's there?"_ she asked.

" _Child, you should calm yourself,"_ a soft, feminine voice eventually answered. _"If you do not, your mother shall burn alongside those that you wish destroyed."_

" _I repeat; who's there?"_ the young dragon replied stubbornly.

The voice laughed faintly. _"You may call me Elimine, child."_

" _Stop calling me a child! My name's Sahria if you MUST call me something!"_

" _Very well, Sahria,"_ Elimine said soothingly. _"Now, would you allow me to assist you, just so that you avoid accidentally burning your own mother?"_

" _Are you even close?"_

"Actually, yes," Elimine's voice suddenly said from on top of the dragon's head.

" _What the…?"_ Sahria yelped, her eyes rolling up as she tried to see who was standing on her head. _"Get the hell off me!"_

"Apologies, Sahria," Elimine said, jumping down to the ground.

The newly arrived woman was dressed in a white priest's garb, her long blonde hair flowing in shining waves down her back and light green eyes that had a kind look to them. In her left hand she carried a magnificent staff while in her right was clutched a shining tome.

" _When did you get here anyway?"_ Sahria snapped.

"Oh, just now, though truthfully I was watching you for a while before I decided to show myself."

" _That's really creepy, lady,"_ Sahria huffed.

"Perhaps…what say we move past that and get to saving your mother instead?" Elimine suggested gently.

The young dragon growled in agreement, deciding that if the slightly odd woman wanted to help then she wasn't going to argue. She heaved her body around and began to resume her attack on the Valmese, this time supported by Elimine who called down beams of light that smited all those they touched leaving nothing but ash.

Neither of them noticed the two shadowy figures that had been watching them the entire time, nor the moment when they nodded at each other and quickly disappeared.

()()

"We should probably find the kidnapped woman before that dragon burns the world down," Kaze the Hoshidan ninja commented to his counterpart Kagero as they began to search the Valmese camp.

"Probably," the female ninja nodded simply. "And keep an eye out for your brother."

"I'm sure Saizo can look after himself," Kaze laughed quietly. "Rather, I feel sorry for whoever ends up facing him."

The two ninja swiftly but quietly made their way through the camp, dodging Valmese soldiers where they could and silently killing them when they couldn't. It didn't take them long to locate the tent where Yana was being held hostage, its location situated some metres from the edge of the camp.

There were two heavily armoured knights standing outside the entrance to the tent, but when Kaze and Kagero observed them from behind a nearby rock formation they saw an unfamiliar man in red armour covered in blood and being held up by another armoured man approaching.

"My lord," one of the guards saluted when he saw them. "The prisoner is secure and awaiting transport to your ship."

"Good, get her out of here," the red armoured man wheezed before pushing himself off of the other man. "Dhamio, you will escort her and make sure to kill anyone that tries to stop you."

"As you wish, my lord," the now named Dhamio nodded.

The red armoured man then left, ordering the two guards to accompany him and soon his figured disappeared further into the camp. Dhamio walked into the camp and for a few minutes Kaze and Kagero watched the entrance until he came back out, this time with a blue haired woman being dragged behind him in chains. Her once elegant looking clothes were now in tatters and she was covered in the grime and dust of battle. It didn't take a genius to know that this was the woman that Kaze and Kagero had come for.

"Do you think you can distract that giant while I free her?" Kagero whispered, already taking out her shuriken in preparation for what needed to be done.

"Already on it," Kaze replied, leaping out from behind the rock and throwing two daggers at the woman's captor.

The man barely flinched as the daggers bounced unsurprisingly off of his armour. He growled in disgust and turned to look at the man who had suddenly attacked him.

"And who are you, worm?" he grunted. "Judging from your garb you are nothing but a thief, or one of similar combat ability. I have to wonder then what made you foolish enough to think to attack me?" When Kaze didn't reply, the man glanced behind him at the captured woman before looking back to the other man. "Ah, you are here to save her…but you would not be able to do so alone. A distraction then…?"

Kaze tensed at this, but did not allow his eyes to flick to where he saw Kagero slowly crawling over the top of the tent where the woman had been kept for he knew that that would have spelt the death of his companion.

"I wonder where your assistance is going to come from?" Dhamio continued, glancing around. "Perhaps…from behind me?"

With that, the knight suddenly dropped the end of the chain that held the woman and drew from his back a black shafted lance with three prongs, the middle being the longest, and whipped around. Kagero froze for a split second before being forced to jump off of the tent as Dhamio thrust the lance towards her. She summersaulted through the air, landing on the knight's armoured shoulders and then kicking off them to once again launch herself into the air. When she had gracefully landed beside Kaze, she threw a brace of daggers directly at the slits of Dhamio's helmet, though the knight simply battered them away with his spear.

"A valiant attempt, woman, but not valiant enough," Dhamio boomed and charged directly at the two ninja.

"Well, this has gone pretty well!" Kaze joked as he dove out of the way, Kagero sidestepping the other way as the pair barely managed to avoid being skewered by Dhamio's lance.

"Focus on the fight, Kaze," Kagero rolled her eyes, attempting to stab Dhamio in the gaps between his armour, but ducking as the lance went whistling over her head.

Dhamio growled and slammed the tip of his lance into the ground before upending a great amount of it, flinging it at the two ninjas. As they jumped out of the way, the knight met them both with two strikes. Kaze let out a yell of pain as he felt the edge of the lance's prongs slice a gash across his arm while Kagero yelped as the front of her armour was ripped open.

"Are you serious?" she groaned.

"Those are rather hindering," Dhamio commented, glancing down at Kagero's chest causing her to quickly cover herself. "You should have been a warrior, at least then the armour wouldn't compromise you like…that…"

Before Kagero could splutter a response a third figure came flying out of nowhere and kicked the knight in the head. There was a metallic clang and the figure dropped to the ground a few feet away.

"Ow ow ow!" the newcomer, a young tanned man with black hair, hissed grabbing his foot and rubbing it. "Damn, maybe I shouldn't have done that."

"You think?" another young man, this one lighter skinned with blonde hair, sighed as he strode into view.

"Who are you two?" Dhamio sighed, sounding thoroughly fed up with the situation now.

The man who had kicked him in the head grinned and pointed his sword at Dhamio. "The name's Gray and don't you forget it!"

"Guaranteed that I will, but keep on deluding yourself, boy."

As Gray opened his mouth to retort, the other newcomer interrupted him. 'And I'm Kliff if anyone's interested."

Dhamio's only response was to throw his lance at Kliff who yelped and dived out of the way. Gray laughed when he saw the weapon lodge itself into the ground.

"What kind of warrior throws away his only weapon?" he taunted.

"The kind of warrior who could kill you with his bare hands," Dhamio replied coldly, holding out his hand. "And one who does not need to worry about 'throwing away' his weapon."

Gray raised his eyebrows, but at a sudden warning shout from Kliff threw himself to the side. To his surprise he saw Dhamio's lance fly through the air and return to its wielder's hand.

"What the…?!"

"The lance Gradivus always returns to its master, boy," the knight informed the younger man. "I suggest that you restrain yourself from making such foolish assumptions in the future; you may last longer."

"I can last as long as needed, buddy!" Gray shot back hotly, missing the cringe and eye roll from Kliff at his words.

"Let's test that," Dhamio said menacingly.

He then charged at Gray, surprising the young man and lifting him up into the air by the neck. Before he could squeeze the life out of Gray, Dhamio's arm was knocked away a glowing golden sword causing him to drop Gray to the ground.

"Now what?" Dhamio growled, looking to his left. His new opponent however was not like his others; it was a large golden knight, glowing like his sword and easily as tall as himself. "Well, you're an interesting one."

The golden knight silently engaged Dhamio in combat, drawing him away and allowing Kliff and the two ninjas to check on Gray.

"Hey idiot, you alright?" Kliff asked, helping his friend to his feet.

"Yeah, I'm fine…hey wait!"

Kliff smirked and turned to Kaze and Kagero, who was still covering her chest with her arms. "I apologise for him, he's very stupid. Who are you guys?"

"I'm Kaze and this is Kagero," Kaze introduced himself and his companion. He then made his way over to the woman alongside the other three. "Was that knight with you?"

"Nope, and I take it he wasn't with you?" Kliff replied and the ninja nodded. "Oh well, he distracted that knight for us so I'm grateful."

"Indeed…my lady, are you alright?" Kaze continued, helping the woman to her feet.

"Y…yes, thank you," the woman coughed. "Who are you?"

"That seems to be a running theme today," Kaze joked and proceeded to introduce the group.

"A pleasure to meet you, I'm Yana…I guess Princess Yana if we want to be formal," the woman weakly curtsied. "I'm eternally grateful for the timely rescue, though I apologize that I wasn't able to help in your fight against that jerk."

Gray waved away Yana's thanks. "Nah, nobody's gonna blame ya for being out of the fight princess."

Yana smiled. Before she could continue a shadow fell over the group and they looked up to see a golden and black dragon hovering over them. The dragon then disappeared and a teenage girl replaced it, falling from the sky only to land lightly in front of Yana.

"MAMA!" the girl cried out in happiness and flung her arms around the princess.

"Mama?" Gray repeated after an awkward moment of silence.

()()

As Sahria reunited with Yana, the Valmese had gone into full retreat. By the time the young dragon and her mother had returned, the Shepherds, Feroxi and the surprising newcomers were mopping up the survivors. Gray and Kliff separated from the group when they saw a red haired woman, close to their age, standing next to an eager looking green haired young man. The two ninjas left soon after, saying that they had seen their lord and were due to report.

"Mama, do you need to go get healed by Aunt Lissa?" Sahria asked as Kaze and Kagero approached a tall, wild haired man in ornate crimson and white armour.

"No dear, I should be alright," Yana assured her future daughter. "I'll just need to rest, that's all."

Sahria looked unconvinced, but decided against saying anything else because she saw Lucina, Chrom and Robin hurrying up to them.

"Yana, Sahria there you two are!" Chrom huffed, skidding to a stop in front of them. "When Virion and Ricken told me that you got kidnapped Yana and that Sahria went charging off without back-up I almost fainted!"

"Again…" Robin muttered under her breath.

Chrom continued, having not heard his wife's sarcastic word. "But I'm glad that you're okay, sis." He then ruffled Sahria's hair much to the manakete's annoyance. "And you too, squirt."

"Well…it wasn't really me that rescued mama, Uncle Chrom," Sahria admitted as she straightened her hair. "These weird people who weren't Ylissean, Feroxi or Valmese did, though I will say my knight saved _them._ "

"Did they mention where they came from?" Lucina asked, standing beside the other girl and slipping her hand into Sahria's own.

"I think one of them mentioned something about 'Valentia' but I wasn't really paying attention."

Yana took up the conversation, since she had been listening to what their four escorts had been saying. "Yes, Gray and Kliff were from Valentia, while Kaze and Kagero came from Hoshido."

"Wait, did you say Hoshido?" Chrom asked quickly and Yana nodded. "Did they mention a Princess Corrina or Prince Corrin?"

"No, but they did say they needed to report to a Prince Ryoma."

Chrom frowned before a look a look of realization crossed his face. "That's the name of one of their companions!"

"Who are you talking about, dear?" Robin asked. When Chrom explained what had happened just before they had found her all those months ago, she raised her eyebrows. "Wow, that's pretty amazing; the same person that helped you out over two years ago has come to help us out now."

Chrom nodded happily. "And if it really is the same people, then we have a great opportunity at stopping Walhart!"

"And don't forget us!" a cheerful voice interrupted them.

Turning around the group saw a number of strangers beginning to gather in the area near them, alongside the Shepherds and Feroxi soldiers. The speaker was a blonde woman that Sahria immediately recognised.

"Hey, Elimine; where the hell did you go?" Sahria asked. At some point during their tag team fight against the Valmese the priestess had vanished.

"Exactly where I had to go," Elimine replied cryptically, much to the annoyance of the young, manakete.

As Sahria began arguing with Elimine, Roland stepped forward and gave Chrom a pointed look.

"We need to talk," he said seriously.

()()()()()()()()()

In a shadowy dungeon, a woman slammed her fists against a table in anger.

"That absolute FOOL!" she snarled. "How dare that old codger bring THEM here!"

The parchments that had been on the table were soon flung aside as the woman raged.

"Please stop that," a menacing male voice suddenly spoke out from the shadows, causing the woman to pause. "You make us seem like a child."

"Who are you?" she growled.

"Your salvation," the man chuckled, moving into the dim light and fixing his glowing red eyes on the woman's own. "Now how about we discuss the future of your plans?"

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

 _And that's a wrap people._

 _Sorry for the very long time between this and the last chapter, work and personal stuff have consumed my life lately but I shall attempt to rectify that somewhat._

 _Anyway, it might seem like not a lot of the heroes of the other generations of Fire Emblem showed up, but trust me; they're there and they will feature at some point in the later chapters so look forward to it._

 _Thanks for reading and staying with this story._

 _Ciao for now!_


	34. Interlude Chapter Six

_So in celebration of the fact that Three Houses is just around the corner (and apparently it's been just over a year since I posted the first chapter of my very first fanfic (this one)) I decided to finally get back into this and write a few small adventures involving the cast and the newly summoned heroes of the other worlds. Hope you enjoy and I will try to get back to the regular story as soon as I can._

 _I have not forgotten, nor am I going to abandon, this story._

()()()()()()()()()

-Interlude Chapter Six- (Belated) One Year Anniversary-

 **-Hero Worship can be an ugly thing (as can the anger of an ignored wife)-**

"Prince Marth, please; could I have just a moment of your time!" Chrom's voice hollered over the sounds of various Feroxi rebuilding Port Ferox in the aftermath of the battle against Walhart's army.

"Roland, hide me!" the object of Chrom's obsession hissed to the older man beside him as soon as he heard the Ylissean prince.

"You're going to have to give him a 'moment of your time' eventually, kid," Roland sighed even as he shoved Marth into a nearby alley. He then stood at the mouth of the alley, keeping watch.

It wasn't long before Chrom charged through a group of Feroxi, bowling them over in his haste and making them shoot him annoyed looks. Looking around, the prince spotted Roland leaning casually against the brick wall and hurried up to him.

"Sir Roland, have you seen the good Prince Marth?" he asked, slightly out of breath.

"'The good Prince Marth'?" Roland repeated, raising an eyebrow in amusement. "You keep worshipping him like that and he's going to get an ego."

"No way, Prince Marth would never give into arrogance or the like!" Chrom protested.

"Whatever you say, Chrom, but in answer to your question no; I haven't seen our 'good' prince."

With a huff of disappointment, Chrom nodded to Roland before hurrying off once again. Checking to make sure that the prince was out of sight, Roland let out a whistle and Marth popped his head out of a convenient pile of hay that had been in the alley.

"Thank you for that, Roland," Marth grimaced, patting himself down. "I'm sorry that you had to cover for me like that."

Roland shrugged, a mischievous grin on his face. "Think nothing of it, oh mighty prince Marth! I was just honoured that I could render assistance to such a paramour of good as yourself on this fine day!" The bluenette made sure to put as much of an overbearingly simpering tone to his words as he could.

Marth rolled his eyes. "Sometimes I think that you're almost as bad as Chrom."

"Oh, cut him some slack, kid," Roland replied as they resumed their journey through the streets of Port Ferox. "He's not doing any real harm and he could use a distraction from the battle we just had and from the ones that will no doubt be in the future."

"He has a wife for that!" Marth muttered. "And at least Lady Robin can handle his…exuberance."

Roland let out a laugh and slapped Marth on the back. "I feel as if Lady Robin is almost as close to murdering Prince Chrom for ignoring her over the last few days as Walhart is!."

Indeed, much to the Shepherds' tactician's disapproval her beloved husband had made the foolish choice of completely forgetting she existed in favour of following Prince Marth around with requests for duels, autographs and generally making Marth exhausted from his unwanted company.

"Hopefully she does something to take his mind off me, and soon!"

It may have interested Marth, and then made him go red in the face out of embarrassment at what would happen in the not too distant future, to know that at that moment Robin was storming through the streets with that very intention.

()()()()()()()

Chrom yelped as his arm was suddenly grabbed and he was pushed into the nearest empty house. He heard the door lock behind him and when he turned around he was faced with the sight of his wife angrily standing there, hands on her hips and an extremely annoyed look on her face.

'Er…hey there, honey…" he gulped, backing away slightly as Robin began to advance on him with a thunderous expression on her face.

"Oh, so you remember who I am, do you?" Robin snapped, reaching forward and grabbing the front of Chrom's shirt.

"Of course I do, Robin, I'm married to you," Chrom replied nervously.

"Really? You could have fooled me!" the tactician hissed. "You've been ignoring me for Marth, you haven't come to our bedchambers since he arrived and it's been TWO months since we last had sex!"

"R…really? Two months?"

"Well…okay, more like two weeks but it feels like months!" Robin admitted sheepishly before returning her glare to Chrom's eyes. "And right now, your wife needs to feel her husband…in EVERY way!"

"Okay, okay, tonight I promise!" Chrom hurriedly cried.

A dangerous glint appeared in Robin's eyes as she let go of Chrom and stepped back a step. "No, right NOW."

With that, Robin slowly undid the bindings of her coat and let it fall from her body. Chrom's eyes widened as he beheld the fully revealed body of his beautiful wife, letting them roam up her long legs, the perfect smoothness of her skin and special space and over her flat stomach. His eyes lingered for what seemed like an age on her perfectly shaped breasts, noting the fact that her nipples were erect, before his gaze flicked up to Robin's own, light brown eyes.

"Well?" Robin asked, tapping her foot impatiently and crossing her arms under her breasts, unconsciously pushing them up and causing the stiffening Chrom had immediately felt start to happen in his lower regions as soon as he had seen his wife strip instantly become almost unbearable.

She didn't have to wait for an answer for long; Chrom, with an almost animalistic look on his face, tore his clothes off and launched himself at his wife, who let out a little squeak of surprise when she felt her back slam against the brick wall behind her before she felt Chrom's penis penetrate her roughly.

"E…easy, Chrom!' she whimpered, putting her arms around his neck, clamping her thighs around his waist and allowing him to lift her up. "But…but I'm glad…that I got through to…you…!"

Moments later, all coherent thought became impossible as Robin lost herself to the sheer ecstasy of having her husband make love to her for the first time in…well, she didn't really care at that moment how long it had been; all that mattered was her, Chrom, and the way their bodies responded to the other's.

It was safe to say that Marth no longer suffered Chrom's continued presence…for at least a few hours.

()()()()()()()()()()()

 **-A tea party for dragons-**

If any human, or Taguel for that matter, where to happen by a destroyed plaza in the western part of Port Ferox, they may have stopped, rubbed their eyes, and done a double take.

The reason for this would have been a rather strange sight, that being several pointy eared manaketes sitting around the ruined plaza, lounging on broken pillars or even sitting on top of their fellow manaketes who were in their dragon forms. However, the strangest part of this scene would have been the long wooden table that had apparently been appropriated from a random hose and laid out with expensive looking tea sets and an array of food.

"Was this really necessary, Tiki?" Raye grumbled from where he was sitting on a piece of masonry. Nowi was in turn sitting on his lap and nibbling on a roast chicken drumstick. "And how did you manage to convince the Feroxi to allow you access to their food stores for such a pointless endeavour?"

Tiki swatted her older brother on the top of his head. "Because big brother this is the first, and probably only, time we will have the opportunity to mingle with so many of our kind, past or future, since the Scourge."

Raye grumbled under his breath about his sister having become girlish and how their mother would have disapproved of the current events. Luckily for him Tiki didn't hear him, since her attention had been taken by the two twin manaketes, Corrin and Corrina, approaching her.

"Um, excuse me ma'am," Corrina said shyly. "But…do you want to try some of this salted pork?" She held up a tray that had a pile of meat on it. "It's really good!"

"Thank you, sweetie, I shall," Tiki replied kindly, smiling gently at Corrina. Sampling the food, the graceful manakete's smile widened appreciatively. "It is indeed very good! The Feroxi know how to handle their meat it seems."

The two female manaketes looked at their respective brothers when they both snorted at Tiki's last words.

"What?" they both asked.

"It doesn't matter," Raye and Corrin quickly replied. They then paused and shared an amused look.

"Right…"

Meanwhile, Idunn found herself speaking with three manaketes named Myrrh a short purple haired girl, and two twins Nils and Ninian.

"Wow…you've definitely been through a lot Lady Idunn," Nils exclaimed, wide eyed; Idunn had finished telling the three younger dragons about her imprisonment, brainwashing and eventual freeing thanks to Roy.

Idunn nodded sadly. "Yes…I just wish that I had been stronger and was able to resist the darkness that was forced upon me. Perhaps that age would have been a nicer one."

"If I may be so bold as to say, my lady, but I doubt that it would have made much difference," Ninian spoke up quietly. "The centuries after the Scouring where rife with chaos; you may have been able to delay it, but not outright prevent it."

"I suppose…" the black cloaked manakete sighed. She then glanced over to where Raye and Tiki were conversing with Corrin and Corrina. "But if those two had been around…although Tiki would have been two young to influence anything at the time admittedly."

"Who exactly are they?" Myrrh asked, having never really been one to pay attention to past events.

Idunn looked at her with a surprised expression on her face. "You've never heard of Tiki or Raye? The children of Divine Naga?"

"Wait…they're the children of THE Lady Naga?" Nils cried in shock. "Leader of the Divine Dragon tribe and essentially the ruler of our entire race as a whole?"

"Wow, Fae thinks that the blue haired manakete is quite stupid if he does not know that simple fact!" a childish voice spoke up then, interrupting the four manaketes' conversation.

Looking around, and then down, they saw that the newcomer was the purple haired, childishly short manakete of the Divine Dragon tribe Fae.

Fae snickered at Nils' bewildered look, putting her hands on her hips and assuming a superior expression. "If the stupid manakete still does not get it, Fae shall explain in the simplest way she can think of; Lady Tiki and Lord Raye are, after their mother, the two strongest members of our race. Lady Tiki specialises in magic, and has the strongest potential for it of the both of them, while Lord Raye is the greatest physical fighter our kind has ever seen." Fae then giggled. "Although, if the two were to get into a fight, Fae would put her bets on Lady Tiki winning because she's also the smartest out of the two."

Quite unfortunately for Fae, Nowi's sharp hearing immediately picked up Fae's words and she puffed her cheeks out in annoyance. Hopping down from her father's lap, she stomped her way over to the equally short manakete glared at her.

"Hey, my papa isn't stupid!" she growled. "He just doesn't use his head all the time!"

"Fae would like to point out that that is the definition of stupid!" Fae protested.

"Nuh uh, it means he's reckless! Way different than stupid!"

"Um…actually they have meanings that are quite close to each other," Ninian spoke up, speaking in a soothing tone to try and diffuse the imminent argument. When Nowi glared at her as well, she shrank back. "I'm…I'm sorry…I'll just be quiet."

However, Fae decided to press her argument, pointing at Ninian in triumph. "See? Your papa is both stupid AND reckless!"

Nowi stamped her foot in frustration but before she could reply, every manakete in the area felt a sudden overwhelming pressure begin to radiate from where Raye had been sitting listening in on the argument his daughter had been having with Fae.

"What was that you little brat?" he growled, loud enough for Fae to realise that she had made the mistake of practically yelling out her last words. "Care to repeat that? I don't think my mother heard you!"

"Oh…Fae is going to be running now!" the purple haired manakete stuttered, turning to flee.

However, her path was blocked when Dragon's Rage came flying out of nowhere and embedded itself in the stone in front of her.

"Nowi…sic her girl," was Raye's simple command to his daughter.

With an almost maniacal grin on her face, Nowi leapt at the terrified Fae and the two manaketes began wrestling. As shrieks and growls began to echo through the air, Tiki rolled her eyes and glanced disapprovingly down at her brother.

"Seriously?" she grumbled. "You're meant to be setting a good example for Nowi, big brother."

Raye shrugged and lounged back on his piece of masonry. "What, I am; I'm setting the example that no one insults our family and gets away with it."

"But I'm sure that Fae girl didn't mean it!"

"Eh, it's also good for Nowi to play with kids her age…or height anyway."

Tiki huffed. "Fae was right' you ARE stupid!"

"Love you too, Tiki."

()()()()()()()()()()()()

 **-A den of thieves-**

"Hey, you with the candy bag!" an angry woman's voice yelled out, causing Gaius and Yana to stop in their tracks and look over their shoulders. "Hold it right there, buster!"

"Whatever you're mad about, I didn't do it!" was Gaius's instant reply as a brown haired girl stormed through the crowd towards him.

"Oh yeah? Then care to explain why the hell MY coin pouch is on YOUR belt!" the woman snarled, pointing at the offending article.

Gaius glanced down and let out a surprised noise when he indeed saw a pouch that he knew hadn't been there before suddenly was. "Woah…okay, I have no idea how that got there."

"Sure you don't you fu…!"

"Sorry to interrupt, but I can assure you that there is no way for my husband to have been the one to rob you," Yana spoke up quickly, cutting off the curse word that was about to leave the young woman's mouth.

"And how can I believe that?" the woman snapped at the cleric.

"Well…because his left hand was buried in his sweets bag while his right…" Here, Yana's face went red with embarrassment before she continued. "H…His right hand has been on my…rear…"

The woman blinked and her eyes flicked down to see that Gaius's hand was still attached to Yana's bottom. Her own cheeks went red slightly and she quickly returned her eyes to look back up at Yana's own.

"Th…that as may be, but then how did my pouch get onto his belt, huh?"

Gaius let out an annoyed grunt and, untying the cause of his troubles from his belt, tossed it back to its owner.

"Here, if it'll stop you from annoying me then take it back," he sighed. "I'm Gaius, by the way and this is my gorgeous wife Yana."

"Cath…" the other woman mumbled after she had stowed her coin pouch back in her carry bag. She then hesitated before shaking her head in annoyance. "Listen…sorry I jumped to conclusions there, but come on; my pouch was on your belt! How else was I supposed to react?"

"Nah, I get it," Gaius assured her. "I'd be pretty mad if that had happened to me."

"Fair enough…now I've gotta find out who really did this!" Cath raged.

"Need help?"

"No, don't need anyone else getting tied to a murder, because I'm gonna kill whoever did it!"

With that Cath stormed off, leaving a bemused Gaius and Yana behind.

"Well…that was new," Gaius remarked, squeezing his wife's rear slightly and making her blush again.

"I wonder who wanted to frame you, though? And why?"

"Who cares, babe? All I care about is getting some more honey," Gaius grinned, smirking as the red in Yana's cheeks deepened. "We've used up almost all of my stock of that stuff."

"How was I to know that you hadn't closed the lid tight enough?" Yana protested. "Do you think it was fun for me to have an entire pot of honey drenched over me?"

"I definitely had fun licking it all off from your body, Yana," Gaius purred seductively in the cleric's ear.

Yana pushed her husband away, her entire face blazing like the sun and causing her to stutter. "R…right, let's just get you some more honey…idiot…"

The thief laughed to himself as he followed his wife, unaware of the mischievous look that was being sent his way from a figure seated on the edge of a nearby roof.

()()()()()()()()

"Well…that was fun," the Nohrian thief Niles sniggered to himself. "Now, how else shall I spend the time?"

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

 **-Some choices are not ours to make-**

Tharja looked down sadly at her sister who was sleeping peacefully on a cot in the impromptu medical facility the Shepherds had set up in one of the fully intact buildings. The moment Walhart's forces had retreated back to their ships, and after she had satisfyingly punched Iduna in the face, the dark mage had begged Raye to help her get Erothea, or Thea as she had called herself, to safety. Seeing the uncharacteristically desperate look on the mage's face Raye had, despite his own injuries, silently picked up Thea and carried her into the city.

Now, Tharja was simply waiting for her sister to wake up. Thankfully, Yana had been able to pinpoint and then remove the magical leash that Walhart had put on Thea so Tharja had been allowed to stay by her sister's side without the need for a guard.

Just as she felt sleep begin to overtake her, Tharja heard her sister let out a soft moan and immediately took her sister's hand.

"Sister, are you alright?" she asked in a gentle voice. "Can you remember who I am?"

"Ergh…Tharja, is that you?" Thea mumbled, confirming that Yana had also managed to return her memories to her. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and groggily focused on the figure in front of her. "Your boobs have gotten pretty nice…"

Feeling her cheeks go warm at this comment, Tharja grimaced and replied, "I…suppose they have, yes. But what about you?"

Thea weakly smirked and brought her hands up to gently grope her own chest. "Yep, still bigger." Which was true; much to her chagrin Tharja's sister had always been, and apparently still very much was, more voluptuous and elegant.

"That's not what I meant, sister," Tharja sighed irritably. "I meant how do you FEEL?"

"Oh…fine, I guess."

"No urge to throttle me, or anyone else?"

Thea raised an eyebrow. "Why would I want to do that to my precious baby sister?" She then cocked her head. "Although I do admit that you look a little more mature than I remember."

"And what IS the last thing you remember?"

Tharja's sister frowned, thinking for several seconds, before a confused look crossed her face. "That's weird…the last thing I remember was taking a trip to the College of Sands because I had been asked to become a professor there and then…well, here we are."

"Do you know how long ago that was?" Tharja asked cautiously.

"Erm…no? But when I left you had just become part of Gangrel's army."

Tharja growled. "That was almost seven years ago; I was fifteen then."

"How old are you now?"

"Twenty-two."

Thea let out a low whistle. "Wow, I've missed out on a lot!" She then grinned playfully up at her sister, her energy clearly returning to her rapidly now that she was awake. "You managed to lock down a man yet?"

"Sister!"

The older woman chuckled before wincing and lowering herself back onto the cot. She then looked seriously at Tharja and asked, "So, how did I get here?"

Tharja fidgeted, before reaching to the side and picking up the Apocalypse tome that Thea had been using during the battle. "Do you recognise this?"

"No, but I can feel the dark energy radiating from it and it feels somewhat familiar…"

"You were wielding this when you tried to kill me," Tharja explained bluntly, deciding that the truth would be better than trying to shield her sister from the events.

"What? No, I never would have done that!" Thea protested. "Right?"

Her sister put the tome back on the table next to the cot. "Don't worry, you'd been brainwashed by a homicidal maniac to do his bidding, you weren't in your right mind." She shrugged. "But Princess Yana managed to break that bastard's hold on you, insultingly easily I'll have you know. I tried and the spell almost killed me in retaliation."

Thea was silent for a moment, absorbing this, before tears began to well in her eyes. "I…I'm so sorry, Tharja…I can't believe some jerk managed to take over my mind like that and have do such horrible things!"

"It's alright, you're free of him."

"Still…I was supposed to be the heir to the Tenebris family, the strongest dark mage our bloodline has seen in generations!" Thea mumbled. "The fact that someone managed to do all that to ME…I'm an embarrassment to our family!"

Tharja shook her head vigorously and took her sister's hands in her own. "No, you're not! You're still my sister, the strongest person I know! Walhart only managed to brainwash you because he's a damned cheater who probably used an ancient artefact on you!"

"But…" Thea's next words were cut off when Tharja let go of her hands and smiled gently at her.

"Sister, you should know by that I won't allow you to blame yourself so you may as well drop it." She patted Thea on the shoulder before standing up. "Now, get some rest and I'll be back in a few hours to check up on you."

"Wow, way to be a caring sister, Tharja, abandoning me like that!" Thea joked weakly. "But you're right; the next time I see Walhart, whoever that is, I'm gonna tear his insides out and strangle him with it before using that nifty tome he apparently gave me to consume him in utter torment."

"That's my older, scary sister; good to see you're back."

"Where are you going anyway?"

Tharja smiled mischievously. "There's a certain someone I need to…thank…for assisting me."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

 **-Daughters and…daughters-**

Sahria laughed at the slightly dazed look on Lucina's face as she pulled her head back after kissing the bluenette for several seconds.

"You alright?" the manakete asked, nipping at Lucina's lower lip again briefly.

"Y…yeah…I may have forgotten how to breath, though," Lucina replied ruefully. "Are you trying to break a record or something?"

"Oh trust me, if I was you'd know," Sahria smirked, taking Lucina's hand and dragging her out of the room they had been spending time alone in. "I'm able to hold my breath for quite a while."

"Maybe…maybe we should test that at some point," the future princess suggested shyly.

Sahria was pleasantly surprised by Lucina's words; in their relationship, Lucina was by far the most nervous one having never really been in any sort of intimate bond with another person, let alone another girl. So the fact that the princess had suggested it was quite exciting for the young manakete.

"Maybe we will," she replied, winking suggestively at her lover. "And I promise you that you'll enjoy it." Sahria then laughed. "But we should probably lock the door; don't want any of our parents walking in like you apparently seem to like to! Seriously, you've walked in on your mother and father doing it several times, and my own mother and Gaius last week!"

"She _was_ covered in a lot of honey…" Lucina blushed, cringing as she recalled the sight of Yana, honey coating her from head to toe, and the way Gaius had been licking a particularly…private area of her aunt. "I'm just glad that Uncle Gaius and Aunty Yana didn't notice me; I don't think I could have survived another awkward conversation." She then huffed. "I really wish the members of our family learnt how to lock doors like we will!"

Sahria leant in and kissed the corner of Lucina's mouth. "Sorry, all I heard was you confirming the fact that we're going to sleep with each other sometime in the future," she chuckled.

Before Lucina, her face ablaze, could answer they were interrupted by someone clearing their throat. Turning around they saw Calista standing there, an inscrutable expression on her face.

"I'm sorry, but did you just say that Yana is your mother?" the other girl asked, looking at Sahria.

"Er, yes…why?" Sahria nodded, sharing a look with Lucina.

Calista studied the manakete before switching her gaze to Lucina. "And…you're from the future, right?"

The bluenette blinked before grabbing both of the other girls by their hands and dragging them back into the room she and Sahria had been in previously.

"How do you know that?" she demanded, her hand drifting down to Falchion's pommel unconsciously.

"Relax, cousin; I know because I'm also from the future," Calista replied, holding up her hands to show that she meant no harm.

"Really? Then how come I don't know you?"

"To be fair, you didn't know me," Sahria piped up. She then did a double-take. "Hang on…did you call her 'cousin'?"

"Yeah…my mother is also Yana…"

There was a brief moment of silence before both Lucina and Sahria yelped. "WHAT?"

"Who's your father?" Lucina asked quickly, while at the same time Sahria asked, "Where's your mark?"

The brunette sighed and crossed her arms. "My father, obviously, is Gaius, and as for where my mark is…" Here, and before the other two girls could react, Calista reached up and tugged her shirt up, revealing her breasts.

"Wh…what the heck are you doing?" Lucina squeaked, quickly covering up Sahria's eyes.

"Look at my left breast, you tit!"

Very reluctantly, Lucina quickly glanced at the indicated breast. She then paused, eyes narrowing leant forward to get a closer look before letting out a small gasp; there quite clearly was the mark of the Exalt.

"Woah…and here I thought that having the mark in my eye was unfortunate," Sahria remarked, once she had removed Lucina's hand from her eyes. "At least it's way easier for me and Lucy to prove that we have ours; you have to flash people to do it."

"Yeah, you have no idea how inconvenient it is to have my mark where it is," Calista agreed, smiling slightly. "So I guess by that statement that you've confirmed that Sahria has her own mark, cousin?" Lucina nodded. "Alright, guess that means she's from a different timeline to ours."

"Yep, already explained that to her," Sahria grinned. She then raised an eyebrow. "Guess that means that we're half-sisters, since Gaius isn't my father in this timeline."

This was news to Lucina. "Really? You never mentioned that…I think."

Sahria froze for just a fraction of a second before shrugging. "I will admit…I was surprised when my mother married Gaius, but since I'm not disappearing or anything, which I thought I would, I haven't really thought about it too much."

"Time travel is weird…" Calista grunted. "Since Lucina doesn't me, I can only guess that I'm from _another_ bloody timeline. Naga, this is getting messy."

"Yeah…by the way, I don't suppose you're going to…lower your shirt now?" Lucina mumbled, still averting her eyes from looking at Calista.

"Oh, right, sorry." There was a rustle and Lucina peeked at the other girl, sighing with relief when she saw that Calista had returned her shirt to cover her chest.

"Not exactly how I imagined telling you who I was but I guess flashing you and finding out I had a half-sister from a different timeline, and finding out that this is ALSO another timeline separate from mine, is a rather memorable way to do it."

"That's for sure!" Sahria laughed. "Oh and nice chest; guess having great boobs runs in the family!"

"Can you guys not!" Lucina whined, as Calista and Sahria high-fived.

"Aw, don't be like that, Lucy!" the manakete giggled. "If it makes you feel better, I'll show you mine later!"

Lucina sighed and put her head in her hands.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

 **-Taming a dragon-**

Raye sighed with satisfaction as he lowered himself down onto the cot. He had spent the rest of the day dealing with all of the manaketes that had been summoned by his rather annoying grandfather and making sure that his daughter didn't hurt Fae too much.

Closing his eyes, he was about to go to sleep when he heard someone slip into his tent. Tensing for a moment, he then relaxed when he both sensed and smelt the familiar, and surprisingly pleasant, presence of Tharja.

"What do you want, Tharja?" he asked, not opening his eyes as he simply got more comfortable on his cot.

"I wanted to thank you for helping my sister and I," the dark mage purred, kneeling down next to the manakete's cot and placing a hand softly on his knee. "If you hadn't been there, I have no doubt that either she or Walhart would have ended up killing me." Tharja then slowly began running her fingers lightly up and down Raye's knee. "And also, I've never thanked you for being so kind to me before this whole mess. Ever since we've met you've never rejected my presence or been cruel."

"I've also never given you any signals that I'm interested, Tharja," Raye replied bluntly, opening his eyes then as he realised what the dark mages intentions were.

Tharja frowned for a moment but, undeterred, she reached up to unclasp the buckle that held her robes together, letting them fall to the ground and standing up so that Raye could see her naked body fully.

"Maybe, but the amount of gratitude I have for you cannot be repaid by simple words," she whispered seductively. "I will only be satisfied by physically showing you my gratitude."

"Ever heard of a handshake?" Raye sighed.

However, despite himself the manakete found his eyes wondering over Tharja's body and he had to grudgingly admit that she had one of the best he had ever seen. Long legs, silky smooth skin that was lightly tanned and long black hair that only accentuated and framed her beautiful face. Now, in the dim light of the tent and her silhouette being framed by the moonlight that managed to penetrate through the cloth of the tent, Tharja looked beautiful beyond measure.

Shaking his head slightly Raye looked up at Tharja, noting the determined look on her face. "There's no way for me to change your mind, is there?" The mage shook her head and he let out a groan. "And there's really no other way that you want to thank me?" "Again, another shake of the head from Tharja. "Fine, but just this once, and ONLY once."

"Trust me; one time will make you want more," Tharja promised, sounding happy as she slowly joined Raye on his cot.

"You're welcome to try and live up to that promise," Raye muttered as he reached up and slowly ran his hands down Tharja's hips, feeling her shiver slightly at the contact.

"Then so I shall…" Tharja whispered before leaning down and placing her lips on the manakete's.

As they kissed, Tharja moved Raye's hands so that were behind her. Knowing what she wanted, Raye quickly shuffled his pants down to his knees. Looking over her shoulder, Tharja smirked when she saw how large he was.

"Nice to see that my assumptions I had about you were right," she complimented. "And I'm certainly going to enjoy this, my love."

"Just call me Raye, Tharja," the manakete grumbled, although he felt his penis twitch slightly at her praise.

Ignoring him, Tharja instead moved backwards and up so that she was crouching just above the tip of Raye's penis. She wiggled her hips for a second rubbing the tip against her entrance, the movement quickly making moistening her vagina. Tharja smirked when an involuntary groan escaped Raye's mouth from the action. The dark mage then took a breath before lowering herself gingerly down around the manakete's shaft and after having wanted this moment for so long she felt herself become giddy with joy that it was finally happening. The dark mage let out a soft moan as the entire length of Raye's penis sent pulses of pleasure through her entire body and eventually she was sitting down fully on it.

"Ha…ha…this is better than…I thought it was going to be…" she whimpered, settling herself more comfortably and closing her eyes. "Seeing it is one thing…having it inside me is…another matter entirely…"

"You alright?" Raye asked, returning his hands to the dark mages hips.

Tharja nodded, biting her lower lip, before beginning to slowly slide her hips back and forth. She let out a dazed giggle as she felt Raye's own hips move in response.

"Seems like you're…getting more comfortable with…the idea of this," she panted, adding a few bounces to her actions that made Raye groan. "Good…I want you to enjoy this as much as I already am."

The dark mage then let out a small yelp as she felt Raye lift her bodily before dropping her back down. This unexpected action caused her to arch her back and let out a loud moan that she immediately muffled by slapping her hands to her mouth. She looked down at Raye, who smirked at her, and then let out another yelp as the manakete repeated the action.

"Just so you know, dragons mate for life," he grunted, Tharja not even having to move now that he was lifting her up and down instead.

"R…really?" Tharja mumbled, trying desperately to keep her thoughts intact as she was subjected to an overwhelming feeling of pleasure.

"Nah, just teasing," Raye laughed, though not unkindly. "If that were the case I'd still be with Nowi's mother Aurora."

"So…so why aren't you?"

"One, I'm assuming she's long dead and two…we only had sex once."

Tharja felt relief wash over her at his words. "And Flavia?" When Raye paused and raised an eyebrow at her she shrugged. "I heard rumours."

Raye shrugged and resumed lifting Tharja up and down. "That was more for fun than anything."

"And…and this…?"

"Call it both curiosity and the fact that I feel like you definitely wouldn't have left otherwise."

Putting aside the brief hurt she felt at the fact that Raye was apparently only sleeping with her to get rid of her, Tharja instead clamped her thighs around the manakete's waist when she was once again lowered down his shaft. She then began to furiously resume riding back and forth on his penis, hoping to convey to him that this was more than just her wanting to show her gratitude for his earlier kindness.

Tharja had, by this point, had well and truly fallen in love with the surly manakete who had managed to save her in more ways than one.

After what felt like an age, but in reality was only ten minutes, Tharja was brought out of her pleasure-drunk reverie when Raye suddenly flipped her over onto her back. Blinking, she looked up at the manakete, a confused look on her face when she saw that he was breathing heavily now.

"My love?" she mumbled. The dark mage's eyes widened when Raye plunged deeper into her than before, a low growl escaping coming from him. "R…Raye?"

Unbeknownst to her, at some point during their love making the manakete had slowly begun losing himself to the throes of passion. The clearly loving scent that he had smelt coming from Tharja the entire time had also not helped. It all coalesced into both confusion and rising lust finally making him throw all hesitation out of the proverbial window and allowing a primal need to mate take over.

Tharja gritted her teeth and whimpered with both pain and pleasure as Raye began thrusting into her without mercy. She felt her mind begin to go blank, but stubbornly reined in her consciousness so that she could continue to feel the full ecstasy her lover was literally pounding into her. Her fingers tightened against the skin on Raye's back and, no longer able to hold back any noises, she let out a loud, drawn out moan that only served to spur the manakete even further.

Raye lifted them both off of the bed and stood beside it, again resuming his earlier actions of personally bouncing Tharja up and down on his penis. Tharja had no choice but to lock her legs around Raye's waist and simply hung on for dear life. She buried her face into Raye's shoulder, moaning and urging Raye on as she felt herself begin to slip away into a pleasure filled haze despite her attempts not to.

" _If…if I die from this, I think…I think I would be able to die happy!"_ Tharja giddily thought as the minutes went by, Raye's almost savage need to mate causing constant waves of pleasure to rock the dark mage's body almost constantly now.

The manakete then collapsed them both back onto the bed before manoeuvring Tharja so that she was on all fours. Now in this new position Raye incredibly picked up the pace even more, breathing heavily now as he felt himself reaching the peak of ecstasy. From the way Tharja was now letting out short, quick gasping moans and from the way her inner walls were furiously beginning to clench around his shaft he knew that she was also nearing her limit. At the back of his mind he knew that he should pull out at this point, but the primal urge had completely taken over and the manakete ignored it.

Once again flipping Tharja over, so that she was now back in her original position of grinding her hips on his lap, he growled, "Make me want more!"

Tharja took these words to heart and added bounces and circling of her hips to her grinding, causing Raye to let out an approving roar. For a moment, the dark mage could see the manakete's eyes flash golden before a sudden, overriding wave of pleasure caused her to arch her back, open her mouth wide and let loose a scream of triumph and satisfaction at the same moment that Raye snarled with the same tone.

The dark mage then collapsed onto the manakete's chest, feeling Raye's seed rush into her.

"How…how was that…?" she panted smugly. When a few seconds went by without a reply, she glanced up at Raye. "My love?"

To her immense delight, Raye's eventual reply was to flip her once again onto her back and stare down at her.

"We're not done," he announced and lifted Tharja's legs over his shoulders. "Guess you were right; once was all you needed to make me want more."

After that declaration, Tharja experienced the full, passionate fury of a dragon awakened to his base desires for the rest of the night.

It was lucky that Raye's tent was positioned on the outskirts of the camp away from the others since neither one them felt the need to be quiet about their love making any longer.

()()()()()()()()()

As the first light of day began to stream into the tent, Raye slowly blinked and opened his eyes. Feeling an arm tighten around his waist as he made to sit up, he looked down and saw Tharja staring up at him.

"Well…that kind of got out of hand, didn't it," he smirked down at her.

Yawning, Tharja sat up and smirked back. "I didn't hear you complaining about it, my love."

"That's because you were moaning so loudly that I doubt you could hear your own thoughts!" Raye replied with a laugh.

Blushing, Tharja hesitated for a few seconds before leaning forwards and tenderly kissing Raye.

"And…as promised, just this once," she murmured, trying to keep the regret out of her voice.

Far from agreeing with her words, Tharja was surprised when Raye seemed to wrestle for a moment before he said, almost in slow motion for her, "It…doesn't have to be just once…I guess."

"Really?"

Raye sighed. "I won't lie Tharja; that was possibly the best sex I've ever had. And I will freely admit that, over the last few months that we've gotten to know one another, I've developed a certain fondness for you." He then raised a finger. "BUT I'm not saying that I'm ready to marry you or anything, this is simply me acknowledging the fact that you may have…awakened…an urge I haven't felt in a long time."

"Not since Aurora, right?" Tharja mumbled bitterly.

Raye chuckled. "Yeah, but the fact that a HUMAN was able to do the same thing to me as another dragon was is something I never thought would happen."

"So…?" Tharja asked cautiously.

"I propose a deal; any time either one of us feels the urge to…release…then they can go to the other for said release, but only if the other wants to as well."

The dark mage considered the proposal before smiling. "I can agree to that." She then fixed Raye with a seductive look. "But make no mistake, my love; I will have you fall in love with me the way I've fallen for you."

The manakete smirked. "if you manage to tame this dragon, you'll be the first one to ever do so outside of my own mother." He then pulled Tharja into his lap. "Now then, about our new arrangement…"

For the next few hours, none of the Shepherds saw Raye or Tharja and those that thought to look for Raye in his tent quickly backpedalled when they heard the clear signs of a woman in the middle of ecstasy.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

 **-A gathering of evil-**

"Remind me again why you're so happy about the fact that that old fool Hubba has drawn heroes from all ages here?" the woman snapped to the man kneeling in front of a circle of runes he had drawn on the stone floor of her room.

"Because it gives me the perfect opportunity to cause chaos," the man smirked. "And in that chaos I will reclaim that which is mine!"

"Right…your daughter who is apparently your perfect vessel…" the woman grumbled. "Must be nice to have something like that; Robin can only get me so far, while this daughter of yours sounds as if she'll make you even stronger once you inhabit her."

"Nothing stopping you from trying to make one of your own once we defeat those accursed Shepherds and rule the world."

"True…are you done yet?" the woman replied impatiently.

With a flourish, the man stood up and squeezed the blood from the heart of a prisoner he had taken earlier onto the central rune. "NOW I'm done. I suggest we stand back."

The two figures stood back as the rune began to glow. The blood that coated it slowly began to swirl into the air, creating a portal shape above the rune. After a few seconds, the portal solidified and hung in mid-air, seeming to hum with a malevolent power.

"Now, let's see who gets summoned first," the man chuckled evilly. "I'll show that old codger that he's not the only one who can tap into the power of the Out Realms!"

The both watched in anticipation as a figure began to appear on the other side of the portal before stepping through.

Lowering his hood, the man stepped forward, blood red eyes flashing as he smoothed back his bone white hair.

"Pleasure to meet you in person, Mad King Ashnard!" he welcomed the large man. "If Gangrel were still alive, I'd introduce you; something tells me that you'd get along famously!"

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

 _And that's a wrap folks. This chapter was a long time coming and I hope that it helped scratch whatever itch you may have gained waiting for it._

 _As I said in the foreword, this was a spur of the moment thing that came about from both guilt at not updating, and excitement for Three Houses. Also the anniversary (belated) of the fanfic itself but that's less important._

 _Hopefully I'll be able to get more time; I've recently began getting less hours at work so that should mean that I'll be able to do more writing at more regular intervals._

 _Finishing with a question: Do you think that Tharja and Raye should only have Noire as result of their new deal, or should there be another new child? And if you think they need another child should it be a boy or a girl, bearing in mind that in this AU Nowi is already Raye's own daughter. Would it be amusing to have him have to deal with THREE daughters, or does he deserve a break and have a male offspring to look after? Let me know if you feel like it._

 _Ciao for now!_


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